Mind of Peace
by Narwhale1
Summary: A young man leaves his old life behind and moves to Castanet to start a ranch and find tranquility. But he does not expect that there is more to his new life than being a rancher, full of hardships and unexpected twists. A re-telling of Harvest Moon: Animal Parade through the eyes of my OC, Danny Vannes.
1. Here is Gone

_First, I'd like to begin with something; why create an OC when I could've just reused Kasey/Kevin for being the main protagonist? Since I don't own anything, I certainly can't make this into my own work, right? I maybe breaking one or several_ _aspect of these copyright laws, however, I feel that if I just reuse cannon characters, it won't exactly give any meaning to the storyline. Nothing new will develop, and it will basically be the same lore as the actually gameplay. Let's be honest; why would you want to read a story about a something that sounds almost like a walkthrough, when you could just go play the game yourself, assuming you own it? I also feel if I introduce a new character with a developed background, it would be a refreshing change from the usual AP universe, and give a more believable meaning into this specific fanfic story(and keyword: _**fanfic story**_, meaning I don't intend to steal any original works and take credit for them). Sure, Kasey/Kevin could be developed just the same way, as well, since they are silent and little is known about them, but I feel it would be refreshing to use someone outside of the cannon cast (they may or may not also make an appearance). Plus, Danny Vannes must exist for the sake of this story's development; otherwise, I would just stopped publishing. Description clearly says 'A re-telling of HM:AP through the eyes of my OC'. Danny was created without the intent of being a Gary-Stu or wish fulfillment; he was created as an idea of entertainment for an audience who wants something different or refreshing, without actually feeling like breaking copyrights. Sorry for the rant; I just needed to point that out, and make my statement clear. Anyways, I hope you enjoy!_

* * *

**1.**

Coffee had started becoming a new thing for me in the morning. Black coffee was the only thing I enjoyed, something to take the edge off my nervousness. It was the day after my graduation, and I had finally finished the university I had attended during the fall semester. It was only 7:08 AM, so I still had time. I headed out of my apartment to check my mailbox. As I came back, I checked what I had from my inbox; a few ads here and there, the local newspaper, and four loan payments, but a flyer had caught my attention. I found the appeal to be a bit gay since it had a touch of pink and yellow with a rainbow sticker attached to it, but it had a very interesting message.

_Wanted: new rancher for Castanet. House Price is only 5000. Good Location! Contact Mayor Hamilton at P.O Box HM for more info!_

It sounded pretty interesting. I had always had an interest in farming. I've dreamed of growing lots of crops, raising a lot of animals, and becoming a well known farmer. It seemed pretty fun; I have helped my parents in their garden and fed the backyard chickens when I was still living at home with them. But that was four years ago. I was now a college graduate, trying to find a job and still adjusting to the city, though I didn't know where to look. My parents suggested I find work in the city; they also expected me to work as a lawyer or doctor. It was hard to meet their expectations. They were always nagging at me about getting my life sorted out. They said I had to work for my own benefit, but I always felt more like I was working for them. Twenty-two years old, and I was still treated like I was still a teen in high school. It wasn't that I hated my parents, though; I loved them with all my heart. I had just wish that they would stop constantly nagging me. I've enjoyed my time in the city, but I've come to realize that it wasn't my lifestyle. The flyer gave me an interesting idea, however. _Should I really move to that place and own my own ranch?_

* * *

"But I've filled in my application," I said sternly to the man at the desk, showing him my file work. I had only just arrived at the job interview I had signed up for, but I could already tell that things were slowly going sour. "I've turned it in on the due date and sent in the application fee 3 weeks prior to the hiring announcements."

"I'm sorry," the man said, "Mr. Reid has looked through your files and we've examined your work, but you just don't meet the standard requirements."

"Graduation was my only requirement!" I pleaded. "I did the one year internship and all I needed was for my major to be in journalism. I need this job."

"I'm sorry, Mr. Danny Vannes. You can write another appeal letter if you don't feel satisfied. However, there might be other businesses that might hire you. You may meet their requirements elsewhere."

"The only other business would be out of state though, sir."

"Mr. Reid is glad to have you, and we're glad you've taken an interest in us. We really do apologize. Have a good day, Mr. Vannes."

That had been another one of my hopes going down the drain. I thought I had adjusted to the city pretty well, but growing up, everything was going at an incredibly fast pace. I nearly had lost all motivation to stay in this city, and to break away from all the people that I knew.

* * *

"So it didn't work out then?" Rachael asked me. I shook my head, taking another swig of my drink. I had told her about my failed interview, and she agreed to take me out to the Rocks Studio that evening, since it was a $1 drinks special.

"The worst part was that I've already set up with them prior to anyone from my class even heard about it. Goes to show how bad this economy is; they can't even hire me!"

"Well, don't let it get you down," she told me calmly. "This is why we are out at the Rocks Studio, right?"

Rachael Brinkley had always been a good friend. Since our first meeting during orientation, she and a lot of other people I met hung out a lot.

"Thanks for this anyways," I said to her, smiling. She smiled back.

"Hey, we are graduates, people who are just trying to start their new life. Let's celebrate it like we did the day after finals." We laughed and had a great time downing our drinks. She was definitely experienced with alcohol and parties, but she was not rowdy like the freshmen. Whenever we held house parties, she was always the 'mother' figure, always watching out for the other girls that drank too much or caused troubles. Guys, on the other hand, we knew how to handle our drinks. Zack always said "Too much is never enough", but that wasn't the case when he and Jimmy were kicked out of the downtown Club La Rumba Valentine's day during our junior year.

"Where's Cody and KC?" I asked. "And aren't your 'girls' supposed to be here as well?"

"Tracy's back home for the summer, but Tiffany and Nelle are coming. The guys are on their way."

"That's weird. Normally, we would all come together, but this is strange."

"What do you mean?" she asked me, brushing her dirty blonde hair to the side. She looked at me with a confused face, staring into my eyes with her blue eye glitter.

"Well, whenever we do go out, the guys would come on their own, as well as the girls. Yet, you asked _me _out. Not very normal for a girl, if you ask me."

"Danny, since when have I been a normal girl?" she giggled. "After all these years, you should know me better than that."

Rachael was definitely a unique girl, both in academics and social events. There was also no denying she was very pretty, but she just seemed too perfect for any guy to date, even for myself.

"I know…" I said quietly, tossing my empty bottle into a nearby trash bin.

"What's wrong?" she asked me.

"Forget it. Anyways, since they're taking their time, let's just have fun. Dance?" I reached a hand towards her. She smiled, grabbing mine as I walked us both to the floor. I never really liked clubs; loud DJ music and flashing lights was not my thing. I tried to avoid clubs whenever I could, mainly because every time I went out with a group of friends, one of us always got kicked out. If anything, I'd prefer just Rachael and a few other friends coming over and compete in champion pong and grilling. She was a good girl, definitely one of the few girls I actually enjoyed spending time with, unlike the others who were too preppy, too arrogant, or too needy. We danced through three songs before heading up to the bar, laughing and enjoying ourselves.

* * *

"Forgot how good of a dancer you are," she said to me, smiling.

I paid the bartender and he handed us two bottles. As I gave her one, I just laughed at her comment. "Yeah, well, your moves make Shakira look like Britney Spears."

We just laughed, toasting and drinking. I enjoyed the time we had . An hour had passed since, and we've had a bit too much to drink. I was really thinking that throughout the years we had known each other, our relationship was just a bit more than friendship. She was very pretty, and we really seemed to like each other a lot. Tonight would've been a perfect opportunity. With courage, and a little help from alcohol, I was planning on telling her how I truly felt.

"Rachael!" a voice was heard over the music and the crowds. She and I looked around, trying to find the voice.

"Hey, Rach!" I saw a tall, lean man in a brown coat coming towards us, smiling and waving, but not to me.

"John, hey!" She shouted excitedly. She stood up from her stool, running towards the man. What happened next shocked me; she embraced the man as they passionately kissed each other.

"I'm sorry John," she said. She pointed at me. I had hoped she didn't see the disappointment on my face. "This is my good friend, Danny. I told you about him."

_Sure, you don't tell me about him, but you tell him about me_? I thought to myself, feeling angry and jealous.

The tall man stretched his hand out to shake mine. I reluctantly shook his.

"Pleasure to meet you, man," he said to me. "I'm John."

"Danny," I said, sheepishly. I didn't know if it was me or the alcohol, but I felt as though someone stabbed me straight through the heart. I felt tears were coming right out of my eyes, and I blinked multiple times to make sure I wasn't showing any. I was too buzzed to care what was going on though.

"Danny, John and I have been going out since last month. Sorry I never came around to tell you about him. He's a great guy, though." Rachael was oblivious to the fact that I had taken an interest in her.

"Oh, it's fine," I said. I felt like I was going to get myself thrown out of the club, because my gangster side was telling me "_Yo, stomp this mother_!"

"Hey, we'll be right back," Rachael said to me. "Are you going to wait here?"

"Yeah, no problem. I'll just, uh, wait here for you two… to come back…"

She smiled, and the two walked past the crowd and off to the dance floor.

"Bartender, two shots of Bacardi."

I needed something to take my mind off of that ordeal. The night was done for me, and I just wanted to go. But I knew I couldn't just leave her. Of course, she did have that John guy.

"Bartender, do me a favor," I told the man behind the counter.

"Sorry, kid, I don't do favors."

"Just this once. I'm leaving. If a beautiful blonde girl and a douche bag in a brown coat ask for me, tell them I'm gone."

The man simply nodded._ He didn't get my message, did he, _I thought to myself… I stormed out of the place, walking past the crowds. I remembered pushing a guy smaller than me aside and stepping on a girl's heels as I made my way out. When I exited through the door, I pulled out my phone. I texted Rachael that I was gone and that she should go home with John or anybody else that came. I had parked a block down the street because it was hard to find a parking spot when we first arrived. I found it funny that I arrived here with a friend, and now I was leaving by myself, slightly drunk and severely depressed. I felt bad for leaving Rachael, but I was confident she would make it back safely. I, however, lost all confidence in myself as I sat behind the wheel, my head slumped over.

The drive back home seemed very long, although it was 5 minutes away from my old university and another 15 minutes from my apartments. The alcohol really messed up my sense of driving, but I had been in worse situations. Thankfully, the cops never caught me. After parking in front of my apartment, stumbling a few times trying to climb the stairs to the second floor where my room was at, having a hard time fitting the key into the lock, and puking in my kitchen sink as soon as I entered, I checked my phone to see what time it was. I never heard my phone rang because there were 2 missed calls from KC, 2 missed calls from Cody, 8 missed calls from Rachael, and 4 voicemails.

"_Hey Danny, its Rachael. I got your text. Where have you gone to? We're waiting for you at the bar_."

_"Hey Danny, it's me again. Why aren't you picking up? Where did you go? Call back_."

"_Danny, it's me. Cody and everyone else is here now, looking for you. Please pick up_."

"_Danny, its Cody. What the hell is going on with you? Rachael is crying her eyes out, and we ended up having to take her back ourselves. That John guy said stay away from her if you're treating her like this. We want to know what happened, man. Call us back_."

I deleted everything, turned my phone off, and threw myself onto bed. I didn't even bother to change out of my clothes. I had really thought that by moving into the city, I could find a new life here and find happiness. Now, there was truly nothing left for me.

* * *

I forgot that my alarm was automatically set to 6:50 AM. The ringing was annoying as hell. My head was still throbbing. The drinks really had me last night, and they still affected me as I stumbled to shut the alarm off. After the quietness settled, I plopped back into my bed, pulling the covers over me when I remembered the calls from last night.

_How do I confront my friends about this? _I thought to myself._I'm usually not the kind of guy that would just bail and leave his friends in the dark. I've seen other people do it, but I never thought I would pull this dirty trick_.

I felt especially bad about Rachael. I walked away from one of my best friends, all because I saw her with another guy. In honesty, I should have been happy for her, that she found someone to be with. Maybe I over reacted because I really wanted to tell her how I felt. I guess after what I've done last night, I can never be with her. I figured maybe it was time to move on. I forced myself out of bed, showered, dressed, and made coffee when I saw the flyer on my table. I picked it up, inspecting the details, wondering what Castanet was like and how different things would be if I became a rancher. I sighed a bit, knowing I would disappoint my parents and break my friends' hearts. This was what I wanted, though, and it was something that an entire city couldn't offer me; peace of mind.

* * *

_So what do you think? This is the first time I've ever published anything online (excluding online essays) so if you could give me some feedback, it'll definitely help me in the next chapter. Thank you for reading, and until next time, take care._


	2. The Ranch and the Bridge

_What's going on, audience? Today, I've brought you chapter two of my series of Harvest Moon: Animal Parade involving Danny, a new character who has moved into Castanet. A little thing I've always thought of to be irritating whenever I played this game was Mayor Hamilton. Sure he was a cheerful fellow and was a bit helpful here and there, but I just found the guy to be VERY annoying. As you read the story, if you see Danny bashing on Hamilton or making smart comments about him, know that it's intentional. Also, I've always wondered what the people's race are in Harvest Moon. I know that it is a game made from Japan, and they do have a few Japanese customs here and there, but does that make them Japanese? Also, where on this Earth does Harvest Moon take place? Is it in the United States or is it in Japan, or is it even in Brazil? Who knows, maybe this takes place in a whole fictional universe that doesn't exist in this world ¯\(°_o)/¯ . Anyways, I hope you enjoy. _**  
**

* * *

**2.**

It had been a week since I made my final decision to move out of the city. My lease for my apartment ended, and I contacted the mayor of Castanet about owning the ranch. I was surprised when I heard that there was little to no requirement in being the new owner, and since I talked with him about it, it would be reserved especially for me. I couldn't wait to go, but my friends and family were not as supportive. My parents practically disowned me when I told them I would be moving out to Castanet, an open country away from the United States. I apologized to Rachael about the night at the Rock Studio, though I hid my feelings from her. I decided it was best not to tell her, though it was something that would haunt me for the rest of my life. It was time for me to leave my old life behind. I felt like I was also leaving a lot of things behind: my parents, my friends, Rachael, even my car. The mayor spoke with me on the phone saying automobiles weren't needed at the ranch, which seemed strange. I felt like I didn't need alot of things moving on. It didn't matter to me; I was moving on to find my own happiness.

* * *

I found it strange that I had to travel by the back of a hay cart to reach my final destination. The cart was pulled by a large grey horse, steered by a middle aged man who looked quite muscular for his age. He had wavy brown hair that was split and wore a green polo shirt, blue jeans, brown boots and white garden gloves.

"Oh hey!" the man turned to me. I was relaxing, my hands folded behind my back as I leaned against the hay.

"Er… what was your name again?"

"Danny. Danny Vannes." I replied, smiling.

"Ah, that's right… Danny." The man turned back around. "I'm Cain, the owner of Horn Ranch. Nice to meet you. It's only a little longer to your house."

"I don't mind the ride," I said. "It's very nice. I don't get to do things like this from where I come from."

"Oh? And where is that?"

"The United States."

"From America, huh? Never been there before…"

It surprised me that the land of Castanet seemed to represent the land of America. Even the people looked like Americans, but it was a place located near Japan. _  
_

"Would you mind if I asked you a few questions about yourself until we get there?" Cain asked.

"Sure, I don't mind." I sat up a bit, checking my pockets when I remembered that I sold my phone. I didn't want anyone to contact me, as I promised myself to break all ties with everyone.

"It's just unusual for young people to want to start up a ranch these days..." Cain continued.

"I just thought I tried something different, away from the city," I said, still relaxing on the hay.

Cain nodded his head. "Well, let me start with this. What's your favorite food?"

_Hm,_ I thought. Come_ to think of it, I don't exactly have any favorite kinds of food. Cheeseburgers, pizzas, Chinese cuisine, and all that other stuff; I don't usually have cravings for food._

"Vegetables and fruits, I guess," I said, shrugging a bit.

"I see," Cain said. "And when is your birthday?"

"April 28th."

"Late spring then, huh? Gotcha."

It was rare for people wanting to get to know me. I had only a few friends back at home including Rachael, Cody, and KC, before I deserted them. I knew I was a terrible person for being so anti-social.

"Anyway, like I was saying," Cain continued, "there aren't a lot of ranchers now. I hope you'll be able to reinvigorate the town."

I opened my eyes, confused at what he said. I continued to lay on the pile of hay and listened to what he said.

"However," Cain continued, "this land has seen better days…we haven't had any good crops in a while, and no one knows why."

_Well, the land clearly looks fine to_ me, I thought._ The grass is still green, the skies are still blue, and the wind is still blowing. How can the land be so_…

then it hit me when I saw a number of broken ranch houses and burnt crop fields.

_Jesus, what happened here..._? I sat back in silence, not wanting to say anything. If what Cain said was true, I started to wonder what it would take to save a dying land.

"Hey, Danny!" Cain said to me. "We're finally here!"

* * *

We had traveled another few minutes when we finally stopped. I hopped out and looked into the distance to see a small white house with a red rooftop. I couldn't believe it; I had my very own house and my very own ranch. I couldn't contain my excitement. This was the start of something new!

"I see you're very happy," Cain laughed.

"Very, sir!" I exclaimed.

"Well, I'll be heading back to the Horn Ranch. Drop by whenever you can. It's only a few miles down the road there." Cain pointed down a road with a sign that said 'Flute Fields'.

I nodded my head, and shook his hand before he hopped back on the hay cart and left. I grabbed my belongings and ran up the path towards my new house… or old looking house. I dropped my things, almost in disbelief at what I saw. A few tiles had fallen off the roof, wooden boards were ripped off from the front of the house, and the paint was almost gone. There was a chicken coop and a barn house too, but both doors were broken, and there was a hole on the roof of the barn. Weeds had grown everywhere and it made the farm look more like a jungle, but I did see a few turnips and other garden plants in the garden plot where the weeds haven't covered it. There were also five cherry blossoms trees. Damn, the place looked a lot better from a distance, though.

"Hello? Hellooooo!"

Someone's voice caught my attention. I turned around and saw a plump, silly looking old man running up towards me, dragging a small wagon.

"Hello!" he said to me. "You must be Danny."

"Yes, that's me," I said to him.

"Welcome to Harmonica Town! I'm Mayor Hamilton!"

I shook his hand. "I spoke with you on the phone. Very nice to meet you, sir."

"It may look a bit rusty," Hamilton said, looking at my house, "but with just a little care, it'll look fabulous in no time!"

_You know, you could just give me a few tools and I'll repair the place myself_.

I started thinking something seemed a bit off about Hamilton. It wasn't that I hated him; I just met the guy, so I couldn't judge him. But there was just something about that guy that made me think "_God, he is annoying as hell_!"

"Oh! I nearly forgot!" Hamilton said. "You can make the 5000 payment for your new land at Town Hall. There is no due date. You can pay it anytime."

I was shocked at what he said, thinking to myself "_N_o_ due date? Holy Crap! That doesn't exist back in America! So I can pay this guy when I'm lying on my deathbed? That'll be something to see!"_

"Oh, and I have this for you."

Hamilton pulled out a large brown envelope from under his blue coat and handed it to me.

"It's a map of the surrounding land! I'm sure it'll be helpful to get you situated!"

"Well, thank you, Mr. Hamilton!" I said to him, nodding my head.

"And I have this for you too."

He pulled the wagon up towards me. I looked at it and saw it contained a blue plastic watering can, a small gardening hoe, and three bags of seeds that said 'Strawberries'.

"You'll need this to start your ranch. It's your farmer starting set."

He didn't give me tools to repair the house, but at least he gave me something.

"I've also left some helpful books in your bookshelf. If you're not sure about something, take a look. It's likely in the book!"

I thought to myself, Hm,_ you know, this reminds me of that one game 'Harvest Moon'. They also had a tutorial for beginners and how to get started. There were also books to help you. It seemed so strange that it was just like the game._

"Thank you for your help," I said, smiling. He's a little useful, I guess.

"Well, I'll be heading back to Town Hall," Hamilton said. "Once you're ready, stop by in town!"

He bowed his head, and I waved my hand to him as he left.

I decided to leave my belongings outside and checking the entire farm first. I then thought, _Wait, maybe I should start off by naming my ranch first. Naming it? Wow, that is really weird. Didn't think I would name my ranch. Didn't think I needed to, but it just felt wrong if I didn't give it a name. What should I call it then? Cool ranch? No. Maple ranch? Nuh-uh. Sunshine ranch? Okay, now I'm just pushing it. Hm, Jimmy was always good at coming up with names, and Jean was always making puns out of Jimmy's names. Those two were more literate than I was in journal class. Jimmy? Jean? JimmyJean? That's copy right. But who cares, they can't sue me, right? Yeah, JimmyJean. That could work for me._

"Welcome to the JimmyJean ranch," I said to myself, trying to see how it sounded.

"I am the owner of the JimmyJean ranch."

"My name is Danny, and I'm the owner of the JimmyJean ranch."

"Hi, and welcome to the JimmyJean ranch."

… it was a terrible name after all, but I liked it. I ultimately decided to call it that. I started to wonder how my friends would react hearing that I named my own ranch after their names…

* * *

I entered my new house. The door made a loud noise when I opened it, so I would have to fix that as well. I looked around inside and saw the place wasn't too bad. They helped clean the place, so everything was organized. The kitchen had a sink, a table and four cabinets. It connected to the living room that had a dresser and the bookshelf that Hamilton mentioned. The living room connected to the bedroom, and there was a closet with a toolbox inside.

_Is this where my tools go? Wouldn't it be easier if I had a shack to just store them?_

It would have to do for now. The place was quite empty, and I would have to buy more things to fill the house. Indeed, there was _a lot _of work that needed to be done. An hour passed after I got my things sorted out. I stood outside looking onward at my new land, my arms at my side, my feet apart and my chest out, standing in an almost triumphant pose. _This is the start of something new,_ I thought._ Though I wish my house was in better condition._

I quickly slumped over, no longer feeling triumphant when I realized I had no idea what to do next.

I suddenly remembered there was a plot with a few vegetables that was ready to be picked. I also had the gardening hoe, and the bags of seeds I could plant. I quickly ran back inside to grab my things when I remembered that the seeds would need watering too. I would have to bring all my things with me if I was going to be farming when I thought to myself '_How would I bring all my stuff with me_'?_ It's not like I had a rug sack to carry around with me to put my things away_-

I spoke too soon. Inside the toolbox was a rug sack, and it was exactly how I pictured it; big enough to carry my things. Putting the rug sack on my back and carrying my equipment, I headed outside to the plot to begin my gardening. First thing first; clear the weeds. I put on my gardening gloves and my black baseball cap and went to work. This was tedious work. If only I had a sickle to help me with this. It took me a good part of an hour to finish clearing the weeds when I saw that there were large boulders and tree stumps in the garden.

"What the fuuuu-!"

I was ready to give in, frustrated at the thought that I would never get it complete. I sat down on one of the stumps, trying to calm myself down.

_Okay, at least you got the weeds out, Danny. Just plow whatever land you can get and plant the seeds wherever there is free space. Worry about the rocks and the stumps later_.

I did exactly just that as I plowed the soil with my hoe. Since the boulders and stumps blocked a lot of my path, I had to plant around them, making the garden look unsymmetrical. I planted one row of seeds in a 3X3 like formation, another in a straight row of 4, another straight row with the rest of my seeds and watered them all. I also remembered to pick the turnips since they were ready; or at least looked ready. They were only decent; no way would I make a lot of money off of decent crops. I need better seeds; no what I needed was better soil. I failed to realize that soil quality also played a factor. I looked at the soil I had on my land; it was dirt poor, literally. I needed fertilizer to make the soil better. I cursed at myself before finally giving up and heading back inside my house.

_A lot of hard work for nothing, _I thought to myself. I threw the three turnips I picked into the sink and sat down at the table. _What do I do now? Help is thousands of miles away. There isn't a town for… wait, town?_

I had forgotten that there were people that lived here!I could just ask people for help since town was just right there. _But do they have the things I need? I need tools, I need more seeds, I need fertilizer. Wait, there's also the books on the bookshelves. Are they really that helpful?_

I walked over to the bookshelves, inspecting each book. One talked about farming for beginners, another one talked about the basics of livestock, and another one talked about mining. I remembered Hamilton talking about the Garmon mines, too. If I could mine, I could make a profit out of that with my farming. _Wouldn't I need a hammer too? Would they provide me one?_

I sighed a bit, knowing that I wouldn't be able to complete my garden in one day. So, I decided fertilizer would have to come another day, as well as visiting the town. _To mines it is!_

* * *

I grabbed my rug sack, leaving behind my gardening equipment and headed up the mountain trail. I took a notice of my surrounding the land was very beautiful. It felt good to be living in the country side once more, away from a bustling, busy life, to feel like I was actually free. It was a very hard thing to describe, but I was quite content with my decision to move out. But my thoughts were interrupted when I saw a man standing in front of a bridge that was beside a massive waterfall. He was young, looking at about my age. He had short, light brown spiky hair and had freckles on his face. He also wore a light blue headband, an open red vest with a yellow shirt underneath, blue jeans that were folded up to his heels, and green tennis shoes. He seemed quite down and I wondered what was wrong.

"The bridge is badly broken…" he said to himself, sighing.

_Wait. Did he just say the bridge was broken? Does that mean I can't go to the mines_?

I walked up to him to see what was going on. He turned around and saw me.

"Oh, I don't believe we've met before," he said to me.

"Yeah, I just moved in today. I'm Danny Vannes, the new rancher."

"Ah, I see. You're here to start a new ranch."

I nodded my head, smiling. "That's me! But, um… what happened here?"

"This bridge was damaged in the last storm we had," he said, crossing his arms. "Storms like that never used to happen around here. It's like something is wrong with nature. It's out of control. Things like this are happening all over town."

_Huh? Nature out of control? Is that even possible? Is that why this whole land seems to be going downhill?_

"Oh, I forgot to introduce myself," the man continued. "I'm Bo. I'm training at the Carpenters."

I shook his hand. "Nice to meet you, Bo."

"Here, Danny. It's used, but I'll give this to you. You can use it to collect lumber."

He reached into his bag and pulled out a small axe. _Wow, this is pretty_ _cool! _I thought to myself._ Maybe I can use this to clear away those tree stumps in the garden_. I took the axe and thanked him.

"I asked Mayor Hamilton to bring me my toolbox," Bo said. "Without it, I can't do my work."

Guess I'll have to go into town anyways. The Garmon mine can wait, I guess. That's just one more obstacle in my way.

"I'll go have a talk with the mayor then, Bo," I said. "I'll see if I can get your toolbox."

"Thanks a lot, Danny," Bo said. "Glad to have you in our town, and good luck with your ranch."

I waved him goodbye as I left. It was only my first day, and I was already having trouble. The garden was a pain to clean up, the soil was terrible, the bridge was broken, and I had to find the toolbox for Bo. Something told me that things were just gonna get tougher. And I thought college was tough…

* * *

_So what do you think? If you think there is anything I messed up on, or if you feel there are more things I should add, or if you have any questions about my story so far OR if you simply enjoy the story, then please let me know. Again, I'd appreciate any reviews and feedbacks you can give me, and it'll definitely help me write better in the next chapter. Thank you for reading, and until next time, take care. _


	3. Harmonica Town

_For the record, I won't really go into much detail on Danny's features or description; however, if I find the time to describe him, then it'll probably be mentioned in the story here and there. For now, you can think of him as another Kasey/Kevin. Finn hasn't showed up yet because I felt his early appearance in the game wasn't quite necessary and was a bit annoying. So as much as I hate the little sprite, you can expect him to come around. HM isn't mine, MMV copyrights, whatever. Anyways, I hope you enjoy._

* * *

**3.**

I went down the mountain trail back to my farm. I pulled out the map Hamilton gave to me and checked it. It seemed a bit funny that I would use a map to help me. The map told me to head south along the coast line and follow the trail, and that'll lead me straight to Harmonica town. It seemed pretty simple, and the walk took me no more than 20 minutes. Along the way, I noticed a few red berries growing from a bush. I went up to them and inspected them.

_Wow, these berries look pretty ripe, I thought. Are they edible? Can I sell them to make some profit?_

I picked them and put it in my rug sack, deciding what to do with them later. I continued on the trail that leads into town, traveling beside the coast. The scenery was nice and all, but I had started to get the feeling that these long walks between the town and my house were going to get very frustrating, especially if I found myself having to travel back and forth. I started thinking about means of transportation like a horse. I also saw a small path that led down to the beach. It looked like a pretty good fishing spot, and I made note of that. There were also a few sea shells laying around. They were pink and they seemed to sparkle in the sunlight.

"Could these be of some value?" I said to myself, picking them up and inspecting them. It sounded crazy, but I figured I could make some profit with them, along with the berries.

* * *

It didn't take long for me to walk from the mountain to the town. The view into town was nothing like I've ever seen; each house looked like they stacked on each other and creating different levels of the town, with the port being on the first level and a few others at the top level. Each house was painted in a different color, and it made the whole place very colorful. I saw a church in the far distant, and it made me wonder what their religion was. I would have to stop by later, for the building right in front of me had a sign that said 'Town Hall'.

"This must be where Hamilton is," I said. "Let's put on my happy face and get this over with."

As I walked up towards the Town Hall, I noticed a shop right beside the Town Hall that said 'Simon's Photos'. I didn't think that they had photo shops here. I was never into photography much, as I myself hated having my photo taken. Senior photo was the worst for me because I had worn yellow braces. I was called "Spongebob Yellowteeth" for the entire year. I entered the Town Hall, and sure enough, Mr. Plump guy-who-barely-had-any-hair-on-his-head Hamilton was sitting at the front of a desk, writing something. He looked up to me as I walked inside his office.

"Danny!" Hamilton exclaimed, standing up and walking towards me. "I've been waiting for you! Welcome!"

I looked at Hamilton with a disgusted look.

_You've been waiting for me? That's a bit creepy. Are you gonna ask for the money as well?_

"Yes, yes, it's good to see you," I said, feeling a sweat drop on my head.

"Now that you're here, why don't you go introduce yourself to everyone in town?" Hamilton asked.

"Uh-huh," I simply said. "Yeah, actually Hamilton, I came here because I need to ask you if you have Bo's toolbox."

"Oh? You've met Bo?" Hamilton asked.

I nodded my head. "He says you have his toolbox, and he needs it to fix the bridge."

"Ah, that's right. Hold on a second." I waited as Hamilton looked around his office. A while had passed and I folded my arms and started to get impatient.

"It's around here somewhere," Hamilton said to me as he continued searching. "It might take me a while before it shows up. Danny, why don't you introduce yourself to the townsfolk's while I'm still searching? I'm sure I'll find it by the time you've met everyone."

I sighed to myself, figuring there was no other choice.

"Okay then," I said, "I'll come back when I've met everyone."

I didn't like introducing myself to new people at all. I grumbled at the fact that I had to live with these people, as well, something I wasn't looking forward to.

_Well, let's start off by visiting the photo sho_p, I said to myself.

As I entered, I saw a middle age looking man with gray hair and a strange looking nose behind the store counter. He wore a dark blue apron and a light blue shirt with brown pants. He looked up and saw me coming in.

"Welcome," he said. "You must be the newcomer. It's always nice to have a young new face in town."

"Oh, does everyone here know about me?" I asked.

"Sure," he replied. "Harmonica town is a very small town. News spreads quickly."

"I see." The town I grew up in was small as well, so I understood how fast news spread. "Yes, I came here to start a ranch."

"A ranch, huh?" he said to me. "Well, good luck. My name is Simon. I've been running this photo shop for 15 years now. There are a lot of great views in this town. I can give you a tour sometime if you like."

"Sure," I said. "I'd be happy to."_ I was just saying that now, but I didn't think I would take up the offer._

"Oh yes," Simon continued, "as a welcoming present, I'll give you my old camera."

He reached under the counter and gave me a camera. Indeed, it was very old. No one used this kind of model anymore. _Maybe these people are kind of old fashioned. I guess I should thank him for giving me a camera that I'm never gonna use._

"You can come here and take photos, too," Simon said, "so come again."

"Thank you, Simon," I said, shaking his hand before leaving.

_I'm glad that's over_, I thought. _One down, numerous more people to go. How many weird people does this town supposedly have?_

* * *

I made my way down a set of stairs past the Town Hall before coming to a building with a sign that read 'Sonata Tailoring'.

_A clothes shop, huh? I haven't gone shopping for new clothes for a year now. This looks like an interesting place._

As I entered, I saw two women talking to each other in front of the store counter. One was a short, old woman who wore glasses, a pink bandanna, and a yellow button shirt with a green dress. The other was a young lady who looked my age. Everything about her was blue; her hair, her dress. She seemed like a master of color schemes. I saw both women were talking, but they didn't sound happy at all.

"What should we do?" the old woman sighed. "We barely have anything to sell…"

"I-I don't know," the blue haired girl whispered.

"Excuse me," I said politely. They were shocked to see me.

"Oh, my," the old lady said, "I thought our sign said 'closed'."

"I'm sorry," the blue haired girl said, "we're not open yet."

_Huh? It's already like 12. How can you not be open yet?_

"Well, I'm the new guy that just moved in," I explained, "and the mayor told me to go introduce myself to everyone in town."

"I see," the old woman said, "meeting everyone in town? I'm Shelly. This is my granddaughter, Candace."

"I-It's very nice to meet you," the blue hair girl said, bowing her head. From her tone of speech and her posture, Candace seemed like a shy girl. I knew shy people when I saw one.

"We started this tailoring shop," Shelly continued, "but we're almost out of material for our clothes. If only Luna were here..."

"But Luna still has her studies," Candace said to her grandmother.

"I know. But we can't satisfy customers if this is all we have."

"I-I'm sure wool and yarn will be sold in the markets again soon."

"I hope so…"

I just stood there, listening to their conversation. _Who was Luna? Is their shop really that bad? What exactly is going on?_

"I'm sorry," Shelly said to me. "I didn't mean for you to hear our venting."

I shook my head. "Not at all, m'am."

"We don't have much to sell," Shelly continued, "but come on by whenever you can."

* * *

I nodded my head and waved to them as I left. You know, I thought to myself,_ that Candace girl looks kind of cute. She seems shy and reserved. She would be a perfect date for Cody. He was always complaining that there aren't enough sophisticated women in the world. She might be perfect for him._

I left the tailoring shop and saw a small bridge leading to the shop next door. I decided to go check that place next. As I approached the house, I saw another girl my age standing outside the door, stretching her arms. She had long, blonde hair that was tied in a pony tail. She was wearing a blue jean jacket with a black shirt underneath that was tied up, revealing her slim stomach. She wore a red mini skirt that went way past up her knees, revealing much of her legs, and they seemed to compliment her snake skin boots. She was a very impressive looking cow girl, a 'real looker' as I would say. I was almost glad to go introduce myself. She saw me and smiled.

"Hello!" she said, putting her arms to her side. "I don't think we've met. Are you the newcomer?"

"Yeah, that's me," I said, trying to sound cool and leaving a good first impression, but I didn't think I pulled it off. "Name's Danny, and I'm the new rancher."

"Well, Danny, nice to meet ya!" she said. "The bars closed right now, but how about some tea?"

I was shocked to hear that they had a bar, and made note to come visit the place sometime. I nodded my head and she took me inside. The bar was very typical; there was a counter with stools, tables here and there, a pool table, a stage, and of course, a shelf with beverages. Behind the counter was a scruffy looking man who was bald. He wore a leather vest with a white shirt underneath and blue jeans.

"Is this a visitor?" the man asked, looking at me and the girl.

"Yeah," she replied, "Danny is in town to start the ranch! I thought that I'd at least offer Danny a cup of tea for coming all this way."

She turned around to me with a sad look on her face. "We're pretty much out of supplies for drinks. The ship isn't sailing, so we can't restock."

What the hell is going on? This is the third time someone's told me about problems in town.

"It's like the whole town is withering," she continued, "and the wind and water is so lifeless… what can we do?"

Man, something really weird is going on here. If I talk to more of the townsfolk, will their stories be the same as well?

"I'm sorry to hear about that," I said to her.

She shook her head, trying to cheer up. "Well, we'll still find a way to go on. I'm Kathy, by the way, and that's my father, Hayden."

"We're the owners of the bar," Hayden said to me. "Nice to meet you."

"We may not have much, but come on by whenever you're free," Kathy said. "You're always welcome!"

* * *

She handed me a small cup of iced tea. I thanked her as I left the bar. _Kathy is a pretty woman_, I thought to myself._ I should try to get to know her. Hayden looks like a protective father, though. I don't do well with other parents._

I took a sip out of the tea in my hands and realized just how thirsty I was. I downed the entire cup, hoping no one was around to see me. Seeing that there was no trash bin around, I simply tossed the empty cup down into the water under the bridge. I figured there was no harm in tossing one piece of trash into the ocean. I made my way to the next house, which was on top of a dock.

_This looks like a fish shop_, I thought._ Do they sell fishing rods here? Would I have to get a fishing license?_

I entered and saw rows of tables with fishes on them. A man in a straw hat wearing a blue fishing vest, a long sleeve brown shirt, and green pants saw me entering.

"Welcome," he said. "There's not much to sell you, though…"

"Oh, don't worry about it," I said to him. "I'm not here to buy."

"Oh, you're not?" the man was surprised. "Ah, you're that new rancher everyone's talking about. I'm Ozzie, the fisherman. There were plenty of fish around these waters to catch. But ever since the Lighthouse stopped working, no ship has been able to sail. So I can barely get any fish."

"So, what is going on then?" I asked in curiosity.

"I don't know what's going on with the town these days," Ozzie said, crossing his arms. He looked around the store for a moment. "I wonder where Paolo and Toby are. Paolo is my son and Toby is my nephew. They might be at the Flue Fields Watermill. I'm sure they're just as miserable about this situation…"

I sighed, feeling bad for him.

"Sorry for being so grim," Ozzie said. "I just wish things would turn out better."

He walked towards the front counter and grabbed a package wrapped in foil.

"Here," he said, handing it to me, "take these. They're very good."

"What is it?" I asked.

"Char fish. Three of them. They're very good when you grill them," Ozzie said, smiling.

I thanked him as I accepted the gift and put it in my rug sack.

"Good luck with your ranch," Ozzie said to me as we waved goodbye.

* * *

As I exited the shop, I saw just across the beach the lighthouse Ozzie was talking about. I questioned myself why it wasn't working. I figured I would have to come back to it though, as there were still people I needed to visit. Further down the docks, I saw a man and a woman together, looking across the sea. The man seemed middle aged, with grey hair and a few face wrinkles. He wore a green dress vest with a grey shirt underneath and a red tie with black dress pants. The woman seemed a few years younger than him, with short light brown hair. She wore a green dress with a white apron over. I wondered who they were as I approached them.

"Ships can't make it into the port," the man said sheepishly. "It's getting hard for business at the inn."

"I know, honey," the woman tried to comfort the man. "What should we do?"

They then saw me, and I waved to them both.

"Hello," the man said, "I don't think I've seen you around here before."

Isn't obvious that I'm new here? I swear people can be so oblivious.

"I just moved in today," I explained to them. "I'm Danny, the new owner of the ranch."

"Oh, you're the new rancher the mayor was talking about," the man said. "Nice to meet you! I'm Jake. You can find me at the Ocarina Inn. Feel free to come and visit."

"I'm Colleen," the woman said, bowing her head. "Nice to meet you. I know the town is lacking in energy right now, but it's nice to see someone young move in here."

These two seemed like a nice couple. They were quite friendly like the other townsfolk. I felt that it wasn't normal for people to be this nice, but I could get used to this.

"Well, it's nice to meet you," Jake said. "Good luck, Danny."

I shook Jake's hand and waved goodbye as I left the two.

"The Ocarina Inn?" I asked myself. "I wonder where that is?" At least I knew where my next stop would be.

* * *

I backtracked to the bar, going up a set of stairs. It wasn't hard to find the Inn since it was just right there on the second level. I entered and looked around. It was an interesting looking place, almost exactly like a diner or a restaurant. I saw in the back behind the counter two women talking to each other. One of the women was old looking. She had pink hair with pigtails and she had large body figure. She wore an orange dress with a white apron tied around her waist. The other was young. She had blonde hair with short pig tails. She wore a pink dress with a white apron. It looked like the old woman was trying to teach the girl how to cook.

"Oh, that won't do at all!" the old woman said to her. "Start over!"

"Oh, Granny!" the young girl said, "You push me too hard!"

I walked over to them. "E-excuse me."

"Oh!" the granny was startled to see me. "Are you the newcomer? Sorry you had to see that. I'm Yolanda, the chef. Nice to meet you."

Yolanda bowed her head, and I bowed mine as well.

"I'm Maya," the young girl introduced herself. "I'm a cook in training. Actually, being drilled is more like it…"

Maya seemed like a cute looking girl. She does seem a bit clumsy though from my perspective. I remember the last girl that I dated was a bit short sighted.

"I'm Danny," I introduced myself to them. "I am the new owner of the ranch."

"Danny, huh?" Maya said. "Nice to meet you."

"Lately, the stove's fire has been weak," Yolanda said, looking at the stove. "It's impossible to cook anything decent."

It didn't surprise me that these folks had problems too.

"Yeah, and we can't get good raw ingredients," Maya said in a worried voice. She then smiled a bit, looking more cheerful. "But everything will be back to normal soon. Just wait!"

She was a really spunky girl. Her personality reminded me a lot of most girls I knew back at home.

"Oh yes!" Maya exclaimed. She reached into one of the cupboards in the back and gave me a wrapping with something inside. "This is a welcoming present. Eat it when you're hungry."

It was a patch of cookies. They looked really delicious. Something told me she didn't bake them, though. I laughed at the thought. I thanked them both before leaving.

So far, I had visited the Sonata Tailor shop, the Brass Bar, the Fishery, and the Ocarina Inn.

_So what else is there_, I asked myself. I looked around and saw a building right next door with a sign that read "Choral Clinic".

_Huh_, I thought._ I guess it would make sense to have a hospital in town as well. Let's go visit this place next._

As I entered, I saw that the place was very typical for a clinic. Behind the counter was an old looking lady. She looked very uptight. She wore a purple dress with a brown cloth draped over her shoulders. I walked up to the counter, saying hello.

"I haven't seen you before," the old woman said. "What's wrong? Do you need to see a doctor?"

"Uh…"I stammered, "no, I'm perfectly just fine. I'm the new rancher and I'm visiting everyone in town."

"Oh, you're the newcomer. I'm Irene. Nice to meet you."

She sighed, looking around in the cabinets. She had a worried face, as if something was wrong. Of course, I knew that a lot of things were going wrong in this town.

"What's the matter?" I asked her. "You seem worried."

"Oh?" Irene responded. "I look worried? You sure are observant. There are a lot of things on my mind."

"Like what?" I knew it would be useless to ask, but I figure that I might as well hear out everyone's problems.

"I'd hate it to bother you with our problems already," Irene said, "but do you know the Goddess Tree?"

"…the what?" I was caught off guard at what she said, wondering what a Goddess Tree was.

"It's a divine tree that grows at the Goddess Spring where the Harvest Goddess lives. That tree protects this land."

_Uh-huh_, I thought to myself. _That's a cool story, bro_.

_I didn't believe in deities or any other spiritual things. This woman is telling me about a Goddess, mind you a Harvest Goddess, that protects this land, and I'm supposed to believe that nonsense?_

"Lately, it seems the tree is dying," Irene continued, "and it's said that the tree is part of the Harvest Goddess herself."

_Do these people really believe that there is a Goddess that protects this land, and that there is a tree where she lives in? And because she was dying, is that why everything seemed to be going crazy here_? The entire time I was listening to her story, I kept thinking about that song from Gnarls Barkly.

"Oh yes," Irene said. "My grandson, Jin, is away studying in medicine right now. Be careful not to get sick or injured. I can only do so much without him right now."

"Okay," I said. I just wanted to leave the clinic place quickly. I still didn't believe that the people believed in a false being. I thought that there was no way that a Goddess Tree was protecting this land. I was thinking that perhaps it wasn't nature that was crazy, it was the people. As I left the clinic, I also thought to myself that there was no way I could possibly get sick or injured. I had lived for twenty-two years, and I had never been close to death before or even injuring myself severely. I doubted the fact that I would need to go to the clinic anytime soon.

* * *

There were a few other houses around, but they looked like resident houses. They were also locked, so I didn't want to enter. I also saw they had a school as well, but there weren't any kids in town.

"I guess the last stop is at the church," I said to myself.

I made my way up the path to the church into a square. The area was very large. I figured that if the people had festivals, they would hold them here. It made me wonder what kind of festivals they held. As I walked up towards the steps of the church, I saw to the side a man looking out across the ocean. I stepped away from the church and went up to him. The man turned around and saw me. He looked about my age. He had wavy light orange hair with hair pins. He wore a teal shirt with a dark blue apron over and sandals.

"Um, I don't think we've met," he said to me. "You must be that new rancher everyone's talking about."

"That's me," I said. "I thought I'd come and start my own ranch here."

"Running a ranch on your own," he said. "That sounds tough. Good luck. I'm the cook at the Brass Bar, but we can't get any ingredients, or customers, for that matter. Without a good fire, I can't cook anything decent anyways. What a joke."

_This guy sounds like hes really depressed. Of course, this whole town was going downhill, from what everyone has said. But still, is it really because of some Harvest Goddess?_

"Anyways," the man continued, "I guess I should introduce myself. I'm Chase. Once we start serving food again, you should come on by."

I was about to reach my hand out to shake his, but he just left without saying another word. It seemed the town wasn't filled with friendly people after all. I shrugged it off and went inside the church. As I entered, I saw a middle aged woman with long purple hair kneeling down in front of an altar. She wore a black shirt with a purple cloth draped over her shoulders. She also had a white dress that was decorated with flower designs. A young man who looked younger than me was talking to her. He had blue hair that was cut into a bowl haircut. He wore clothes that seemed to resemble a pastor.

"Here for comfort again?" the boy asked the woman.

"Yes," she said quietly. "It's been more than a year now since he's gone. Sometimes, it seemed like so long ago, sometime it seemed like only yesterday."

From her expression and her words, this woman seemed to be a widower. I walked up to them and they saw me.

"Oh, you must be the newcomer everyone is talking about," the young pastor said. "I'm Parry, a priest in training."

I shook the boy's hand. The woman looked at the both of us.

"I should get going," she said. "Take care."

I was shocked when she left without introducing herself. I thought to myself that she was probably still mourning.

"That's Mira," Parry said. "She lost her husband about a year ago. She was absolutely heartbroken, but she is doing better. However, she doesn't really know what to do with herself."

Parry sat down in one of the pews, sighing.

"I wish I could be more helpful, but I still need to learn a lot of things. If you see her, please try to talk to her."

I wasn't really good at comforting people, especially when its death related. If I saw her, I would try to talk to her, but I didn't think I would do much more than that. I waved goodbye to Parry before leaving the church, when I thought to myself, _oh my god, is this it? Am I really done visiting everyone_?

I was ecstatic at the fact that I was done introducing myself. I was just ready to get that toolbox and have that damn bridge fixed. I walked outside to the church grounds when I saw a large white dog looking at me. It looked a lot like a Pyrenees. I was animal-friendly, so I decided to approach it. It wagged its tail as I came towards it. I stopped in front of it, making sure it was comfortable enough for me to get close to it. I thought to myself if only I had a treat of some sort, when I remembered the cookies. I reached into my rug sack, grabbed one cookie, and handed it to the dog. It sniffed the cookie in my hand, and then took the entire thing in its mouth. I was surprised that dogs ate cookie, but they will eat anything. After it had finished the cookie, it barked at me once, wagging its tail uncontrollably. I reached a hand out to pet it, and it willingly allowed me to touch its white, soft hair.

"Good dog," I said to it, and it barked once more before walking off.

It seemed like a stray dog. Maybe I could adopt it, but I would have to try to befriend it first. I kept the dog in the back of my mind as I headed back into town.

I reached the Town Hall, and sure enough, Hamilton was at his desk with the toolbox, smiling at me. I found his cheerful face to be very annoying.

"So you've met everyone?" Hamilton asked. "Well done! I hope you can become friends with everyone."

"Sure thing," I replied. "I see you found the toolbox."

"I thought I had it with me in my office," Hamilton said, "but I then remembered it was at my house! Sometimes, I can be so silly."

_More like you can be so annoying. I really don't know how I'm going to tolerate the mayor._

"Anyways," he continued, "Danny, give these back to Bo so that he can repair the bridge to the Garmon Mines. Thank you for your help."

I took the toolbox and waved goodbye. I suddenly remembered what Irene had told me about the tree and it made me very curious. I turned around to Hamilton.

"Mayor," I said, "I don't suppose you know about the Harvest Goddess?"

The mayor looked at me, this time with a serious face. "Well, of course I do. Everyone in town knows. But how did you find out?"

"The lady at the clinic told me," I said. "Is there really a tree that protects this land?"

The mayor sighed. "I'm not sure what has been going on with the tree. Some say us humans have polluted the land here too much. Others say the Goddess is tired of us living here. I'm sure you've heard the stories from the villagers. If only there was some way we could revive the tree."

I was still unconvinced that there was actually a Goddess that lived in these parts. It seemed a bit skeptical, but I would have to find out for myself to see if there really was a divine tree.

"I see," I said to Hamilton. "Do you know where the Goddess Spring is at?"

"It might be around the Garmon Mines," Hamilton said. "Once the bridge is fixed, you can look around and see for yourself."

"Well, thank you for telling me," I said to Hamilton as I left.

I still refused to believe that a tree that protected the land existed. This was a world where such things didn't exist. But if what Irene and Hamilton say is true, I would have to look myself. Farming was going to have to wait, for there might be something bigger going on here.

* * *

_So what do you think? If you feel that there are grammatical errors and misspellings that I need to fix or if you have any questions about my story so far OR if you simply enjoy my story, then please let me know. Sorry if this chapter seemed boring; it's just that intros take a really long time when you're trying to focus on character interaction. As I said before, your feedbacks, reviews, and criticism will help me write out the next chapter better. I am a bit of an amateur writer, so I'm sure you writing legends out there can help me whenever I screw up, and I hope that this story will ultimately give you guys a reader's satisfaction. Thank you for reading, and until next time, take care._


	4. But, isn't Betty a woman's name?

_What's going on, audience? Today, I've brought you chapter four in my series of HM: AP. Probably the most frequent asked question is "Who will Danny marry?" Honestly, I've planned this story pretty thoroughly, but I haven't given much thought to his love life. He will be interacting a lot with the bachelorettes, and he will have his tender moments with each of them. Perhaps you could help me plan out who he will end up with and how he will marry them. Message me your thoughts and ideas, and I might consider your requests and put them into the story. Who knows, maybe Danny might even be gay _¯\(°_o)/¯ _(spoiler: he's not!)__. Anyways, I hope you enjoy._

* * *

**4.**

I made my way back to the bridge, following the trail that went past my farm up to the mountain. Indeed, traveling back and forth was very annoying. I needed to find some way to help me travel faster, otherwise I would look like I was participating in a marathon. Passing through my farm, I made sure to ship the things that I thought would make me some money; the berries, the shells, and a few mushrooms I picked along the way back. _Would these really make me money_? I had my doubts, but it was better than nothing. I continued my way back up the mountain trail and met up with Bo again. I handed him his toolbox, and he thanked me.

"Now I can complete my work," Bo said, smiling. Suddenly, I heard a loud grumbling. I looked around to see what it was, but I then saw Bo grabbing his stomach.

"How embarrassing," he said. "I'm sorry about that, Danny. "I've been doing a lot of work, so I haven't eaten much."

I heard his stomach growl again, and he groaned as he grabbed his stomach. I sighed heavily, wondering if I would have to do everything in this town.

"How about I go get you something to eat?" I said to him. "That way, you don't have to spend so much energy looking for food."

"Really?" Bo said. "That's really thoughtful of you. Let's see then… I'd like to have milk and strawberries. I think once I eat again, I'll be able to work."

_Hold on a sec… Does he really expect me to get those things for him? Where do I get milk and strawberries? _

"Would you want one of my cookies instead?" I asked him, hoping to convince him.

"I don't really like sugary things. Just milk and strawberries will do. I'm sure you can buy them from the Horn Ranch or the Marimba Farm from the Flute Fields."

_The Horn Ranch? Is that where Cain lives?_

"Sure," I said. "I'll be back then."

* * *

I felt that today was just a day of traveling back and forth. Even when I was still in college, I never had to walk around my campus as much as this before. Things just never seemed to go my way. I pulled out the map again and followed the trail east, traveling along the coast and crossing a bridge before I saw the sign that said 'Flute Fields'. It took about 20 minutes to travel from the farm to the Flute Fields. I saw the day was getting late, somewhere past the afternoon so I needed to finish my tasks quickly. The path split into three different ways; straight ahead was the Marimba Farm, left lead to the Horn Ranch, and right lead to the watermill. _Maybe I'll check the watermill after I've bought milk and strawberries. _So, I went to the Marimba Farm first. I noticed there was a house right next to the shop and it made me wondered who lived there. I stepped up onto the balcony of the shop approached and was about to enter when suddenly, the front door swung open, almost hitting me in the face.

"Oh yeah?! Well, I'm leaving and never coming back!"

A little kid with spiky blonde hair and blue goggles on his head stormed out of the house. He didn't even see me as he ran past me.

"See if I care, you good for nothing son!" I heard a man's voice yelling from inside.

I slowly peeked through the doorway, seeing a middle age man and woman talking to each other. The man wore a brown coat and a brown beret with blue jeans. The woman had short brown hair and wore a white apron with green linings and a purple dress underneath. The two looked like a bunch of grouches.

"Look who's talking," the woman said to the man. "You should at least make effort to work. And you wonder why Anissa hasn't come back yet?"

The man threw his arms in the air, outraged. "It doesn't matter! Nothing will grow here, no matter what we do!"

The man stormed off into another room, and the woman leaned against a table, sighing. She then saw me peeking through the open doorway. I waved a hand, but I was afraid I might have provoked her.

"Hello," she said to me, "you must be the new rancher."

I entered slowly, ready to turn around quickly and run if I needed to. "Y-yes, I am. I heard this is the Marimba Farm."

The woman nodded, still keeping the emotionless expression on her face. "I don't suppose you heard that ruckus? It's quite normal now. We sell seeds, but we haven't had any good stocks for quite some time now."

"I see… well, sorry to bother you then."

I felt really awkward being in that situation, so I quickly turned around and left. As I went outside, I saw the little boy with his back turned against me. He had his arms folded, and he sighed.

"Hey kid," I called to him, "You okay?"

I wasn't good with kids at all. I had spent much time trying to be an adult that I couldn't find myself relating to children. However, I felt bad for the kid, so I needed to cheer him up somehow.

"I'm fine," he said, looking a bit more enthusiastic. "Hey, you're that new guy, huh? What's your name?"

"Danny," I replied.

"Danny, huh? I'm Taylor. The two grouches inside are my parents, Ruth and Craig."

"Oh? And why are they so grouchy?"

"The soil here is pretty lousy. It's tough to grow decent crops. My dad's been pretty depressed about it. That's why I'm thinking about going off and buying seeds on my own."

"That's pretty noble for someone your age. But shouldn't you just stay here and help them?" I asked him.

"Well, my big sister, Anissa, left to find seeds that will grow here, but she hasn't come back. That's why I'm going to do something about it!"

_Hm,_ I thought, _this kid's got a lot of optimism. Wish I was that enthusiastic._

"Sounds good, little man. But I think it will be best if you stay. If you say the land here is lame, then you should do your best and help here. I'm the new rancher here, so I'll help out as best as I can."

"Well, alright then. Thanks for the support, Danny. Actually, I want you to have these."

I was surprised when Taylor reached into his rug sack and pulled out a bag of strawberries and handed them to me.

"They're not the best quality," he said, "but they're still pretty good. If you plant many of their seeds, I'm sure they'll taste better when they're ready."

The strawberries were exactly what I needed. I was glad that one thing had gone right for me today.

"Thanks," I said. Taylor waved to me and headed back inside. _That's one down. Now for the milk._

* * *

I made my way to the Horn Ranch. The view from the top hill of the ranch was quite impressive. It looked like a good place for star gazing, and it made me wonder if the people here did that. I made my way to the store and entered. Looking around, I saw a middle aged woman wearing an orange dress and a white apron looking at the store products with a sadden face. _I guess it's true that everyone here is feeling down, _I thought to myself.

"Excuse me?" I said aloud. She quickly turned around and saw me.

"Oh, hello! You must be the new rancher my husband, Cain, told me about."

"Yep! Just got in today. I'm trying to start a new life here."

The woman's cheerful face quickly saddened. "I see… I wish you luck, but you should know that things have been pretty rough here lately."

_As if everyone doesn't have their own problems to worry about here,_ I thought to myself._ I think its funny the people here complain about their problems first before they introduce themselves. I'm starting to see a trend._

"I'm sorry! I've done nothing but complain ever since things have gotten bad here. I need to cheer up!"

"It's okay. I understand."

"So, Danny, was it? I'm Hanna, Cain's wife. If you ever need help, just ask us. Oh, and take this with you."

The woman went behind the store counter and brought to me what looked like a sickle.

"Use this for cutting grass and collecting fodder for you animals."

_A sickle? _This was the modern age.I started to wonder why these people used old tools instead of advanced machinery. _Was it because of their goddess or something?_

"Thank you," I said politely. "I'll do my best. Actually, I came here to ask if you sold milk."

"Why, yes," Hanna said. "That costs 340G."

It was pricy, but I needed it. I quickly purchased it, thanking Hanna. Before I could leave, she stopped me.

"Oh, Danny. My husband actually wanted to see you if you came by. He should be down by the barn."

This was quite a shock to me. _What would old man Cain want with me?_

* * *

I exited and looked around to find the barn. It was quite close, next to the chicken coop and the windmill. I noticed the mill didn't move because of there was no wind, and it made me wondered if that had anything to do with the land being in bad shape. Making my way towards the barn, I saw a young woman standing in front of the mill. She had short brown hair with her bangs dangling behind her ears. She wore a long yellow dress and brown boots. I decided to introduce myself to her.

"Hello, m'am," I said. She turned around, and I saw that she had quite a cute face.

"Oh, you must be the new person my dad was talking about," She said to me with a smile. "My name's Renee. I'm the daughter of Cain and Hanna."

"Nice to meet you, Renee. I'm Danny."

"So you are the one everyone says is starting out a ranch?" she asked me.

"Just trying to start somewhere new," I responded. "I figured 'maybe ranching might be right for me'."

Renee smiled, nodding her head. "It's tough working on a ranch, but it's really rewarding. You know, my dad actually wanted to see you. Come this way with me."

She led the way as I followed her into the barn. I was impressed with the number of livestock they had. There were a good number of cows, sheep, and horses. Tending to them was the man who had brought me here.

"Ah, Danny, good to see you," Cain said to me as he turned around. "How's the new ranch coming along?"

"It's going well, sir," I said. "I just wish I had time to actually start on it if it wasn't for my errands."

"Dad," Renee said to Cain, "Didn't you say you had something for Danny?"

"That's right! I actually wanted you to come by because I had something for you. If you want to start your ranch properly, you'll need livestock as well. How would you like a calf?"

I could not hide my shock after hearing what he had said. "A… a what?"

In all honesty, I wasn't prepared to own my own cattle. If anything, chickens were already hard enough to raise when I still lived with my parents.

"I-I suppose so. Thank you for such a gift."

"Not at all," Cain said, smiling. "I'm happy to help you start off. Renee, could you bring over the new calf?"

"Sure," Renee said. She went off somewhere and in a few moments, came back with a brown little calf.

"She's all yours," Cain said. "Why don't you name her?"

I had a hard time coming up with names for anything. I felt it took me forever before I could name it. For some reason, that scene from the movie 'Kung-Pow' with the cow entered my mind, and I was reminded of Master Pain. So I finally decided to call her Betty.

"Yeah, I'll call you Betty," I said, patting the calf gently.

"I know you'll take great care of her," Cain said. "Take this brush with you. If you brush your animals everyday, their affection will increase for you."

"Thanks a lot Cain! And thank you, Renee."

"It's no problem," Renee said to me. "Here, let me escort you and your new calf back to your ranch."

Her proposition shocked me a bit. I was prepared to leave by myself, but it would have been difficult getting the calf back since I knew very little of animal care taking.

* * *

Renee led the way while I led the calf with a rope around its neck.

"So you come from America?" Renee asked me. "What's it like?"

"Well, if you don't include the city, it's pretty much the same as the land here."

"Oh? Is that a good thing?"

"What do you mean?" I asked her. Her response puzzled me a bit.

"Well, you know that things have been pretty bad here. The animals aren't as active as they used to be. It must be because the soil is too bad, or the townsfolk are depressed, or that the wind has died. I've even heard rumors about a goddess that watches over the land. They say because the goddess tree is dying, she is dying, and the whole land will die as well."

I figured since these people are different, they had different beliefs as well. I still didn't think that a goddess watching the land was plausible.

"I don't suppose you believe in the Harvest Goddess, do you?" Renee asked me. "It may seem a bit farfetched from your perspective, huh?"

I was glad to know I was not the only sane person here. Renee seemed like a down-to-earth kind of girl. It was good she was a normal girl, but the topic did seem rather crazy.

"I'd rather not talk about it. It's strange, really. I guess your people are lunatics for believing in something that isn't real."

A strange silence fell on Renee. I automatically felt awful for what I said. I was a bit of a rude person, speaking bluntly at times.

"But, hey, that's no reason to give up," I said, trying to cheer her up. "I'm sure if everyone works real hard, we'll be able to revive this land. Alone, we can do so little, but together, we can do so much."

She smiled at me, her light brown eyes full of the cheerfulness, the same eyes I saw when I met her just moments ago.

"Thanks, Danny. I believe your encouragement will help us bring things back to the way they were."

I smiled back, but even I forced it, knowing that I may not be capable of holding my word. I doubted that even if I could do something to help this land and its people.

With Renee to talk to, the walk didn't seem that long. It was nice to getting to know someone who I had just met.

"Well, we're here," she said to me, her arms folded behind her back. "Good luck, and take good care of Betty."

"I will. Thanks for helping me. Hope to see you soon."

"Well, you know where we live. Drop by whenever you can."

* * *

She waved goodbye and left down the road leading back to her home. _She's a nice girl_, I thought to myself, smiling. I looked at Betty and saw she wasn't standing by my side. I looked around when I suddenly saw her stomping through my plot.

"Oh, no!" I cried. "Betty, don't do that!"

The calf was unresponsive. I watched helplessly as she trampled over my seeds. I knew this was going to be tougher than I expected. After grabbing the rope around her neck, struggling to drag the calf away, and finally locking her inside the old barn, I was able to resume my quest back to the broken bridge. I figured that I would have to check the damage later when I came back. The walk to the bridge took a while, and the sun was setting when I reached Bo.

"Thanks a lot," Bo said to me after eating his food. "Now that I'm full, I can start the repairs once again."

"So, you're really going to be working on this all night?" I asked him.

"I've had tougher jobs. Fixing this bridge should be easy, thanks you to. It should be done by morning. When I'm done, I'll let you know."

After talking with Bo for a while, I headed back home, seeing that it was late. As I reached my farm, I saw a young man with gray hair walking down the opposite road. He wore a blue and white striped shirt with white pants and sandals. He had his straw hat strapped to his back and he carried a fishing pole with him. He noticed me and waved.

"Why hello," he said to me. "You must be the newcomer. I'm Toby."

"Name's Danny," I introduced myself. I noticed his rod and pointed to it. "You fish?"

"Yeah," Toby said. "Just came back from the river at the Flute Fields. I love fishing. It's just that lately, there haven't been much fish biting at all. You may have already heard that everything here is lifeless. The watermill at the Flute Fields doesn't run smoothly anymore, so the fish aren't active."

"Hm, that's shame," I said. "I wish there was something we could do."

"Anyways," Toby said, "even if the fish aren't active, it's still fun to at least try to catch them. Here, take my fishing pole as a welcoming gift."

I was shocked when he handed me the rod that was right on his back. At least I now had a way of getting food. After the entire day, things seemed to have been getting better.

"Thanks, Toby. I appreciate it," I said to him.

"No sweat. If you aren't busy, drop by sometime at the Fishery in town. I'm sure you've met my father, Ozzie."

Tony seemed like a laid back person. His personality seems lazy, but he looked like a nice guy. Not many people that I knew had traits like his. Back at home, if you weren't busy, you were busted. It seemed here that you could be as laid back as you wanted, and there were no consequences. It made me feel like a workaholic.

Toby soon left, and I decided to check on the damage Betty had done. The garden wasn't in bad shape; if the seeds had sprouted, then they would have been ruined, but I was lucky that I already picked the ones that were already good for harvesting. I hoped the seeds would grow soon, and that I would be able to get my money. I decided to check on Betty one more time. However, she almost rammed into me the moment I opened the barn door.

"I'll just check on her tomorrow," I said, quickly closing the door and locking it again. _Boy, th_is _calf is a handful._

When I entered my house, I unpacked all my gear; the leftover strawberries, my sickle, my fishing pole, the cookies, the books I received, and the old camera. I did a little cleaning before I finally was able to change out of my work clothes and into my night clothes. The time was only 20:17, but I was exhausted. I threw myself onto my bed, thinking about my entire day. _Interesting people that live here. Strange stories they have, but they are nice people. But a Harvest Goddess? I'd like to see that for myself. But I have a new home, a new farm and a trouble-making calf of my own… I think I could get used to this…_

* * *

_I know that I haven't had time to work on this for a while. So to make up for it, I've published two chapters in one day. Enjoy._


	5. The Harvest Goddess and the Divine Tree

**5.**

I heard a knocking that woke me up immediately. Someone was outside the door. I checked my alarm to see the time reading 7:00 AM. I got up and went to open the door, not caring that I was still in my sleeping boxers and shirtless. I opened the door to see Bo standing outside, smiling.

"Morning!" he said cheerfully. "Did I wake you up?"

"Not at all," I lied, trying to keep my posture.

"The bridge is fixed now," he said to me. "Drop by the carpenters whenever you can. We'll be expecting you, as well as the other people at the Garmon Mines."

I thanked Bo before he left. I was glad the bridge was fixed. Now I was able to do some exploring. I first needed to take care of my farm. There was also a trouble making calf still locked up inside the barn, which I also needed to feed. Renee had given me a bag of fodder to me yesterday, so food for my livestock wasn't an issue for the moment. The only problem was if Betty would let me feed her.

After handling my morning business, cleaning the house, watering my plants, and checking my funds (I made a total of 310G, which wasn't a lot), I finally decided to check up on lil Betty. Carefully opening the barn door, I peeked in first, checking to make sure she wasn't waiting for me just so that she would ram into me like last night. It surprised me that she was still sleeping in her pen. Not wanting to wake the calf up, I took a piece of fodder and put it quietly in her food pen. It was still early, so I figured I would let her out later, when she was awake. But I knew it was inevitable, for as soon as I reached the door, the calf woke up with a loud '_Moo_' and charged straight at me. I was surprised that such a small calf had such strength as she rammed me outside of the barn and into my garden.

"That's a harsh way of saying good morning, isn't it?!" I yelled at her, trying to pick myself up from the ground.

I was only kidding myself. The calf would never understand a word I said to her. She simply ignored me, grazing the grass in the meadow a few meters away.

_At least she'll be occupied. Now it's time to explore the Garmon Mines._

* * *

I made my way up the mountain trail, collecting a few more berries I found and some mushrooms before I reached the ridge. Indeed, it looked a lot better than last time I saw it. Crossing it safely, I took note of the large waterfall, wondering what sort of fish lived in this river. It wasn't long until I arrived in another town. It was very interesting; the houses were lined like a typical village, but there was a cliff side that over looked the entire land. The mountain was enormous, with little houses sticking out from the side. It was very impressive looking.

Quick introduction and then off to the next one; that's how I wanted to introduce myself to the people in this town, because I still had work to do. After spending some time exploring, there was the Carpenters, of course, a general store that sold the appliances that I needed but couldn't afford, a blacksmith for mining, and the Koto Accessories, which I didn't find interesting. The people, however, were. Dale was the owner of the carpenters, who had a son named Luke, but he wasn't around because he was out in the Fugue Forest. Barbra was owner of the general store and the wife of Simon. They had a daughter named Phoebe, who also wasn't around because she was in the Garmon mines. Ramsey was the owner of the blacksmith, and has a son named Owen and a niece named Chloe. The Koto Accessories was run by Julius, an over decorated man, but he said the shop used to be owned by Mira. After her husband died, she hadn't been doing her job, and left Julius to run the place, which he had no idea how to, and he needed her to come back. Of course, everyone here had problems just like in Harmonica Town and the Flute Fields. It made me start wondering again about the goddess the townsfolk were talking about.

_Could there be an actual entity that makes this land prosper? _I thought to myself. _There's got to be a more logical explanation. Goddess tree? Magic? Goddess. What nonsense._

* * *

My head was filled with thoughts that I didn't even pay attention to the path I was walking on. What I thought was the path heading back down the mountain was actually a forest trail that was unfamiliar. I started wondering how I ended up here. I turned back the way I came, but I then saw a squirrel come in front of me. It squeaked loudly, almost as if it was trying to talk to me.

"Hello, little guy," I said to it. "I'm sorry I don't have food for you."

It started squeaking louder, running up towards me. I thought that it wanted to play at first. I was then approached by chipmunks, rabbits, and raccoons. They started squeaking loudly as well. And then a monkey riding on a wild boar appeared from out of the woods, snorting and yelling at me.

_This is getting way too strange_, I thought to myself.

Just when I thought it was getting bad, I heard a loud rummaging coming from the woods. All the animals continued to shout and yell at me, but I was focused on the loud noise coming from the trees. And then I saw what was making that noise; a large brown bear came out of the woods, snarling at me. I reached into my bag to see if I still had my sickle or axe, or any tool that would help me defend myself. I then realized I had nothing but berries and mushrooms. I threw them at the bear's feet, but it ignored the food as it continued growling at me. I did the only thing I could do; run for my life. Sprinting past all the animals, I ran further into the woods. I didn't bother to look back as I kept my feet moving. I was scared, but I was also sad at the fact that I barely started my new life, and here I would be eaten by a bear. As I continued to run, I didn't even notice the old structures that started to appear in front of me. Suddenly, I tripped and fell into a pool of crystal clear water. I felt the cold water rushing over me as I fell deeper. I swam back up to the top, gasping for air. And then I saw the bear, and all the other animals, staring right at me. They gave me a mean look, growling and snarling at me. I had no idea what was going on, why this was happening, and what I did to upset them, but I never figured I would die at the hands, or paws, of forest critters. This would, indeed, be the strangest death known to man, to be chased down and killed by forest critters.

* * *

"That's enough!" a voice called out, echoing throughout the forest.

It was a demanding voice, yet it sounded gentle as well. There was calmness and gentleness in the mysterious voice that rung out. I wasn't sure how or why, but it seemed to stop the bear, as well as the other forest creatures, from attacking me. In fact, they stopped growling and started to show signs of submission; the bear sat on its rear, shaking its head back and forth. The monkey started clapping while the boar raised its head. The squirrels, chipmunks, rabbits, and raccoons cried in a tone that sounded friendly. It was a strange display of animal behavior, something that I had never seen in all my life, something that no scientist had ever seen and might never see. And then, all the animals retreated back into the forest, and left me floating in the pool. I was awestruck at what had happened.

"Just what the heck was that?" I said to myself aloud.

"Please accept my apology."

Yet again, I heard the voice ringing. This time, it sounded as if it was directed towards me. I looked around, examining the blue pool I was in. It took me a while to see the concrete structures that was around; broken pillars were scattered, a brick path made its way barely above the shallow area of the pool I was in. It resembled something like an old ruin. But I was focusing on whose voice was calling out to me. It sounded peaceful, almost… divine.

"Will you respond to me, stranger?" Yet again, it spoke up.

I was too dumbfounded.

"Uh," I tried to formulate words. "… What's going on?"

"Again, I must apologize for what has happened. Please understand that they were only trying to protect the tree."

"They? You mean the animals? And what tree?"

Then it hit me; I turned my head back, looking above the pool, and there stood a large tree. The branches were bare with no leaves on it, the wood seemed rotten. It seemed as if the tree was dying.

"Holy…" I could not hide my shock. "So… there _is _a tree? The townsfolk aren't crazy?"

"So then, _you _are the stranger that has arrived here…"

And then, a ray of light shone brightly in front of the tree. It was so blinding, I had to cover my eyes with my hands. When it had faded, I opened them slowly, and what I saw next made me almost sink into the pool water; a beautiful woman clothed in a light green dress appeared in front of the tree. Her long, aqua-colored hair was braided in a beautiful fashion, accompanied with a golden tiara, and wearing golden bracelets. I had never seen such a magnificent sight. It felt as if I was in a dream. In fact, I started questioning all that I knew. Just seeing such a display started making me doubt the laws of reality and logic.

"You look at me as if I am an illusion," the woman said to me. Her voice was very soothing.

"I…" I stumbled to say a word.

"Perhaps you would talk better if you were out of the water," she said to me, smiling.

I suddenly felt myself feeling light. I looked and saw that I was out of the water. In fact, I wasn't even on land! I was floating in midair, and I was pulled directly towards the woman. I couldn't move, couldn't control my body. And then, I was lowered onto the brick floor, in front of the woman and the tree behind her.

"Do you have a name, stranger?" she asked me.

"Uh…" I still could not form a single word.

She continued to smile at me. "You are quite shy for a human. And I thought all humans were very social, at least the ones that dwell in this land. But you are not from here, are you?"

_Why couldn't I bring myself to talk to her? What is wrong with me?_

"Um… uh…"

"You are the first human to have ever seen me. A goddess is not supposed to reveal herself unless it is absolutely necessary."

"Goddess?" Somehow, I was finally able to talk.

"So you can speak?" the woman started giggling. "Indeed, I am the Harvest Goddess, the being that watches over Castanet. But I can understand your silence; humans do not believe in such spiritual things. They forget the meaning of what it represents, and in that; it loses its powers, both spiritually and physically. Take the Divine Tree, for example."

"Divine Tree?" I asked.

"Yes," the woman replied.

I could not hide my shock; the rumors and stories I had heard were true. No one would ever believe that this was real. Even I began to doubt the very moment I was in was only an illusion, that I was hallucinating.

"Please, stranger," she continued. "May I know your name?"

I was finally able to muster up some words. "D-Danny Vannes."

"Danny… it is no coincidence that you have arrived; fate must have called you here. I sense in you great will power. You have something that many of the people here do not. I cannot say how or why, but I feel it emitting from your soul. Yes, Danny, I believe you have the power to save this land."

"HUH?" It didn't make sense to me. I didn't believe a word she said, or anything that had happened so far. I kept thinking to myself that I had not moved, that I was still back at home.

"I know it may seem difficult, and I'm sure you may not even believe in all this. But you have heard of the people's cry for help, Danny. They need you. This land needs your help. Will you help me restore nature back to the way it was?"

"I… Goddess…" I was able finally able to speak what was on my mind, rather, I was able to shout it out.

"This is INSANE! _Harvest Goddess_?! What's up with that?! Just what on earth is this supposed to mean?! Do you really expect me to just _accept _the circumstances?! Do you really expect me, Danny Vannes, a twenty-two year old college graduate, a normal human being, to believe in this fantasy fairy tale nonsense of being a hero and saving a dying land from the help of a goddess?! Reality must be really screwing with me, because how the heck does a being like you appear like this?! I must be hallucinating, because there is NO WAY a GODDESS exists! That is only fiction! How am I supposed to believe what is real and what is not anymore?!"

I started breathing hard, feeling the frustration boiling. I was in complete denial, fighting against myself and my thoughts. And then, I felt a sudden sensation flow through my body, and I started to calm down. My mind felt clearer, and I felt more relaxed. I looked at the woman, and despite all that I had said to her, she continued to smile at me. _No way, _I thought to myself. _Did she just cast some kind of spell on me?_

"I understand your feelings," she said to me. "Humans cannot comprehend such existence. That is exactly why all this has happened. Over the course of many years, many people started losing their faith. They forget what it means to love and labor, to nurture the land, and in the end, the power of nature starts failing. Harvest becomes worse, people start throwing trash everywhere, the land starts to whiter, until it is lifeless and deceased, just like the Divine Tree… and just like me."

She held in her hand what appeared to be a plastic cup; the same cup I had tossed into the ocean yesterday in town. And instantly, I felt ashamed for what I did, and what I had said. I still didn't believe in the moment I was in, but her words, her story, had started convincing me.

"Why me?" I started asking. "What's so special about me? I'm an outsider of this land, aren't I?"

"You are gifted in ways that the people here aren't, Danny Vannes," the goddess started explaining. "I could sense your spiritual energy when you entered Castanet. You have gained knowledge from the outside world, a gift that cannot be gained from these dying lands. You are very special, indeed, child. And it is only you, with your gift, that can revive the Divine Tree and bring harmony back into nature."

I was not fully convinced, but I had asked myself what I would do to help the people in need. The land was in bad shape the moment I had arrived, and if what this 'Harvest Goddess' said was real, if everything that had happened really was as it is, then I had to go along with it.

"I… I guess I can help. I don't know what's so special about me, I mean, I'm just a normal guy trying to start a new life, to get away from where I used to live. If my help is needed, then I guess I'll lend a hand."

"Thank you, Danny," the goddess smiled at me.

"So, what exactly do I need to do?" I asked her. "Do I have to, like, fight a dragon or something?"

"Dragons are creatures that no longer exist. But they are not relevant to nature."

"Wait a second. So dragons _did _exist?!"

"Danny, listen to me. As the power of this tree weakens, so does the power of nature. Water, fire, earth, and wind have lost their strength and vitality. In order to bring back the power of these elements and restore nature, you must ring the 5 bells scattered across the land."

"…What?" I had no idea what she was talking about.

"I have asked the Harvest Sprites to ring their bells," she continued, "but nature's power must be weaker than I had thought. They maybe all too weak to do so…"

"Harvest Sprites? Bells?"

"Yes. Each bell represents an element of nature, and they are each accompanied by Harvest Sprites, guardians that watch over the bells. Find them and speak with them so that they may be able to help us."

"It seems like such a strange concept. But if you need me, then I guess I will find them. But I don't even know where to start looking."

"It may take time, but you will find them. If I knew where they were, I would tell you their exact location, but their spiritual energy is so weak, I cannot sense them."

"Well, that seems to help a lot… but I will do my best, Goddess, if that is what you need me to do."

The woman gave a warm smile. There was no doubt that she was beautiful.

"One more thing," she mentioned. "You must not speak to anyone of our meeting. There are others that may know of the Divine Tree, or even myself, but unless otherwise, do not mention of anything that has happened here."

"Huh?" I asked. "Why's that?"

"The balance of the Goddess energy and human spirits is very fragile. When a human comes in contact with the Goddess, a part of my energy will be connected to that person's soul. That is why I must stay away from human contact. But I have shown only myself to you because I need your help. However, in doing so, the consequences for me will be disastrous; even mentioning the meeting of a goddess will drain away what's left of my energy and the Divine Tree will whiter completely. Nature will fall into discord, and the land will ultimately die out before it even has a chance to be saved."

"Holy bajeez!" I cried. "That's terrible!"

"So heed my warning," she said to me. "I trust in your strength to do what is necessary, Danny. You have the power to restore this land and revive the tree."

"I-I will, then," I said. "I will definitely _not_ mention anything about you, since your energy… is with me? And also, I will look for the bells."

She smiled warmly at me. "Well, then, Danny. I wish you luck in starting your new life, and finding the bells. You will not be alone, however. I have a special someone who will aid you."

"Who?" I was curious to know. After mentioning that, I felt relieved to know I wouldn't be working alone.

"He is a very loyal assistant, and very talkative," she said. "I'm sure you two will get along just fine, right, Fin?"

"Fin?"

And then, a small speck of light started fluttering around the Harvest Goddess. The light started to take shape, forming into a sort of yellow fairy.

"Hello!" it said in a high-pitched voice. "I am Finn! It is very nice to meet you!"

_A fairy? Really?_

"What's this?" I asked. "A fairy is going to be helping me? I thought you were talking about a normal person!"

"Danny, Finn is very reliable," the Harvest Goddess said. "I'm sure you two will make great partners."

"Don't look down on me just because I'm a sprite!" Finn said. "I can help you in many ways!"

I simply raised my eye brows, completely baffled.

"Right… a fairy… you gotta be joking me."

"Say what you want!" Fin yelled, flapping his tiny arms around. "But we have a mission to save the Harvest Goddess and the Divine Tree. We must find those 5 bells soon!"

"Right, right, whatever you say."

"Danny, please take Finn," the goddess pleaded. "He will be very valuable in helping restore the land."

"Okay," I said. "Just leave it to us."

"Leave it to us, Harvest Goddess!" Finn said. "You can count on me and Danny!"

"Danny, I now put my faith in you," the goddess said. "Everything is up to you now. When the five bells have rung, I will return back to speak with you. Until then, take care."

She closed her eyes, and another ray of light started emitting from her. I squinted my eyes again to cover them, and when I opened them again, she was gone.

"So, Danny," Finn said. "Let's get started, shall we?"

I ignored the sprite. It wasn't going to be fun or easy, especially with a new 'partner'. Everything that I knew, all that was logical and all that was real, they didn't make sense anymore. If goddesses and sprites, and even dragons, existed, then it would explain why everything was the way it was. It took me a while to realize that my clothes were not soaked in water anymore. I knew I would be expecting a lot more 'unexpected' phenomenon's to show up in this new life I led.

* * *

_So, what do you think? If you feel that there are grammatical errors and misspellings that need fixing, or if you have any questions about my story so far OR if you like the story, please let me know. Again, your reviews, feedbacks, and criticism will help me in writing out the next chapter better. Your opinion is much appreciated, and I will thank you for being so awesome for taking the time to look over my story, and I will send you a lifetime supply of fruity pebbles to your address. I'd also like to give a shout out to 'The Altrox' and 'Seventh Chance'; you've been the most honest reviewers on my page, and you've given me some helpful tips in writing my story (so here's your pebbles). If you haven't done so, please check their page out. Thank you for reading, and until next time, take care. _


	6. The Red Bell and the Fire Sprite

_What's going on, audience? Today, I've brought you Chapter Six of 'Mind of Peace'. This is an incredibly short chapter, but I've recently started to pick up on it again, so the other chapters should be fairly longer, and going at a more faster pace. No copyrights intended, but I hope you enjoy!_

* * *

**6.**

"So, Danny, what is your favorite food?" Finn asked me.

He had not stopped talking ever since we left the spring. As I made my way through the woods back to the Garmon Mine district, the golden sprite persisted in asking questions, including where I came from, why I moved to Castanet, what my favorite color was, and other questions. In all honesty, it would not have been so bad to try and help the goddess, if it were not for the annoying, pesky fairy that had to follow me.

"You sure are quiet!" Finn yelled at me. "I don't see what you have against me!"

"Well, it's not that I don't hold anything against you, Finn. Heck, in all honesty, I should be amazed that sprites even exist. It's just… why a sprite? If goddesses exist, there certainly must be more creatures of imagination out there to help me. But of all of those beings, why does it have to be a little pixie?"

"Oh, so that's it, huh? I've read about your kind before; you all admire those greater things in legend, like dragons, or wizards. I'm just as useful!"

"I'm sure you are," I said, snickering. I still had my doubts about the fairy, though. In fact, I still had my doubts about all that had happened to me within the past five minutes. It was then, when we returned to the Garmon Mines, Owen appeared out of nowhere.

"Hey, Danny!" he said, smiling and waving. "I saw you walking into the forest, and then I heard loud noises coming from there. Did anything happen?"

_Oh crap! Owen sees Finn! What the heck is he going to say?! What is everyone going to say about this sprite?!_

"Danny?" Owen's voice broke my thoughts.

I continued to look on and see that he hadn't noticed Finn, who was simply just flying right by my side.

"Uh…" I stuttered, but couldn't say anything. I was still fazed at the fact that Finn was right by my side, but Owen looked on as if he was invisible. I was shocked that he didn't notice.

"You okay?" Owen asked me, looking confused.

"I… but… a sprite?"

"Sprite? What are you talking about?" Owen looked at me as if I was a madman.

I looked at Finn, but he raised a finger to shush me. He gave me a 'stop talking to me and pay attention' facial expression.

"Yeah," I continued. "I was… uh, THIRSTY for SPRITE. SO thirsty, in fact, that I moaned about it. I didn't think I made such a loud noise, though. It is such a great drink! MMM-MMM!"

I gave Owen a nervous grin, hoping that he would buy my story. He looked at me oddly for a second, before shrugging his shoulders.

"Well, if you say so," Owen said.

I sighed in relief. It shocked me that I was able to nibble my way out of that situation.

"Anyways," Owen continued, "I was looking for you before you would head back to your farm."

"Oh?" I asked, rather surprised. "What did you need?"

"Well, I could use another able-bodied man to help me clear this rock that's been blocking the way to the 10th level in the Garmon Mines down below. Would you be willing to help?"

"Oh, not at all," I said, thrusting my arms in a pumping gesture.

Owen smiled and nodded. "Great! Follow me towards the mine, then!"

I followed after Owen, but I kept my distance so I could talk to Finn. I glared at the golden sprite, and he gave me a look of confusion.

"What the heck was that?" I asked Finn, keeping my voice down to where Owen couldn't hear me.

"Oh, I forgot to tell you," Finn said. "Since I'm a Harvest Sprite, my energy is connected to the Harvest Goddess, which means her compact applies to me."

"What does that mean?" I asked.

"Only you can see and hear me, and no one else," Finn explained. "The same thing works with the other sprites."

"Ohhhh. That explains a lot."

"Aren't you glad that you can see me? You should consider yourself special that the Goddess chose you."

"I suppose," I said, grinning at the sprite.

* * *

It wasn't long until we arrived at the mine entrance. It was quite similar to a large cave. Greeting us was Owen's niece, Chloe.

"Is Danny going to help us?" the little girl asked.

"Yep!" Owen replied.

"Cool! It's nice to have someone helping out!"

"Wait, is she even allowed to go into the mines?" I asked, rather stunned that they would let a small kid do a job like that.

"Sure," Owen said. "She's only nine, but she's quite the worker, even if she does get into trouble now and then."

"I'm totally dependable, though," Chloe said, pouting at me.

I just shrugged my shoulders, trying not to think about the negativity of child labor. Following the two down the tunnels and making our way to the lower parts of the mines, I made sure not to trip over myself, as the inside of the mines was absolutely marvelous; it made a man feel very small.

"Have you ever been inside a mine before?" Owen asked.

"Never in my life," I responded as I kept awing my surroundings. "The city doesn't offer us a place like this to explore."

Owen laughed. "Is that so? I've been working on this mine my entire life, so you can guess it's become very familiar to me. Despite all that has happened recently in these lands, mining hasn't become much of an issue. There are still lots of valuable ores to root about for."

"What do you guys do with the minerals you find?" I asked.

"We ship the raw materials out to other places that need them, or we forge them into stronger tools. If you want to make your tools stronger, you can mine here, and my uncle will be more than willing to upgrade them. If you have the right minerals."

"Sounds interesting," I said.

It wasn't long until we finally reached the 10th floor. We reached a small corridor that was blocked by huge boulder. Indeed, one man would not be able to do this alone.

"Time to get started," Owen said. He then reached into his bag pack, pulling out a large hammer.

"Take this," he said, handing it to me. "You're going to need it. When we're done, you can have it as a reward for helping me."

"Thanks!" I said. "This will come in handy!"

"Chloe, clear away any rubble me and Danny chip away," Owen ordered her.

"Roger that!" the little girl said, saluting.

It was tough work clearing away such a large structure. It started off easy at first, as I was simply hammering with all my strength. But within five minutes, I was already worn out.

"That's what happens when you use your full strength," Owen laughed. He then reached into his pocket and handed me a package wrapped in a napkin.

"When you are mining, remember never to use all of your strength. Use some of your strength, but try to conserve as much as you can, or else it will spell disaster for ya. Take this and eat it; it'll help a bit."

The wrapped package was a sweet potato. I ate it in one sitting. It wasn't much, but I felt a bit more rejuvenated after relaxing for a few moments while Owen continued to work. It was no surprise to me that he was still able to continue; he was an expert at this, while I was merely an amateur. I had a lot to learn about farming, mining, and saving dying lands. Soon, I resumed hammering away at the rock again. I found a pattern that helped a bit; take a large swing, relax for a few seconds, and repeat. It seemed to work, and after an hour of clearing away the boulder and the rubble, the tunnel was finally clear.

"Whew, we finally did it," Owen said, wiping his forehead.

"Yippee, the tunnel's open again!" Chloe exclaimed as she jumped for joy.

I was shocked that even the little girl still had energy left. I found myself sitting, exhausted from the work. Every muscle in my body ached; I had never worked this hard in my life.

"So, you feeling alright?" Owen asked me. "Nothing beats the joy of mining, huh?"

"Uh… if you say so, man," I said sarcastically.

"Well, Chloe and I are going ahead to the 11th floor to see if we can find some ore. Wanna tag along?"

"No, thanks. I'm just going to rest here for a while before I leave."

"Suit yourself. But thanks a lot for your help. If you're up for it, we should mine together again, sometime."

"See you around, Danny!" Chloe said, waving her hand before they left.

* * *

"That seemed like quite a workout." Finn's appearance caught me by surprise, as I had forgotten a fairy was still following me.

"Maybe you should try to pick up a hammer and do what I just did; see how you would feel."

"I would, but I'm incapable of lifting such heavy things; which is why I will rely on you to do it."

"Oh, right, and the goddess said you were _totally _reliable. I should just make it easier on myself and strangle you-."

"Hold on!" the fairy interrupted me as he flew a few steps down the tunnel we had just cleared.

"What is it?" I asked, standing up.

"There's something down from those tunnels," Finn said. "I can feel it. It seems so… familiar…"

"Something like what?"

"I don't know. This way, Danny!"

The sprite flew on ahead down the tunnel as I took off after him.

"Hold on," I shouted. "Wait for me!"

Finn led me down a series of narrow corridors that seemed like a maze.

"I can sense it now," Finn said as he continued to fly on. "It… it _is _here! Why didn't I sense it before?"

"What?" I asked as I continued chasing. "What's here?"

The fairy then stopped suddenly. I, however, couldn't stop, and slammed into the fairy, sending him crashing to the ground. I never knew that fairies were so resilient, as he left a red bump on my forehead that ached.

"Why didn't you stop?" Finn shouted as he picked himself up. "Ow, I can't feel my wings!"

"Says you," I said, rubbing the red spot on my forehead. "My head's gonna bleed out from fairy collision."

I didn't even notice the spacious room we were in and the large pedestal structure with a red bell in front of me, and when I did, I gasped in shock. It was a huge bell; it seemed too large and too heavy for one person to carry it if they tried.

"Is that a… bell?" I asked.

"Yes, that's it!" Finn exclaimed. "That's why I flew so fast down here! The red bell… If we ring this bell, we can restore the power of fire!"

"Okay," I said, nodding my head. "So, do I just, like, ring it?"

"No human can ring it," Finn said. "Only the Harvest Sprites that represent the bell can ring it. However, they have to be summoned first before they can ring the bell."

"Summoned?" I asked. "You mean, like, from Final Fantasy?"

"From what?"

"Nevermind. Anyway, how do I 'summon' the Harvest Sprite?"

Finn seemed to ponder for a moment. "Well, you see… I… hm, how _do_ you summon them?"

"WHAT?" I could not believe what I had heard. Indeed, the fairy was useless.

"I'm sorry!" Finn exclaimed. "The Harvest Goddess never told me how to summon the sprites. All she told me was to help Danny find the 5 bells and restore nature, but she never told me how to summon them!"

"Well, that's just perfect." I sighed in frustration. I then rolled up my sleeves and walked towards the bell.

"What are you doing?!" Finn asked.

"What's it look like? I'm going to ring the bell."

"You can't! Only the Harvest-"

I didn't care to listen to the sprite. I rung the bell, but was surprised when I found out it didn't make a sound. I rung it again to make sure, but still nothing happened.

"What? How is that possible?"

"See, I told you!" Finn exclaimed. "Only the Harvest Sprites can ring it."

"Well, then, how the hell do we SUMMON THEM?!" I shouted. I was getting very frustrated at Finn to the point where I picked up my hammer and swung it at the bell.

"No!" Finn shouted, but I had already banged the bell.

Suddenly, the bell started to glow a bright red. Sparkles of red light showered the room, and in a blinding light, a small, red pixie that looked exactly just like Finn appeared in front of the bell. He had his hands over his ears, screaming and shouting.

"OW!" he yelled. "You didn't have to hit it so hard!"

I was dumbfounded; I had simply hit the bell out of frustration, but I didn't think that that was the way to summon the sprite.

"Is that… a Harvest Sprite?" I asked.

"Yes!" Finn exclaimed. "You did it!"

He flew up to the red sprite to talk to him.

"Sorry. He didn't mean that!" Finn said.

"That's fine," the red sprite replied. "As long as the human knows what he's doing."

"Actually, I don't," I said. "I never thought that hitting the bell with a hammer would actually summon you."

"That's the way it's supposed to work, but you're not supposed to hit so hard," the red sprite said "Unless you're trying to deafen us!"

"I'll try to remember that," I said, scratching the back of my head.

"Anyways, I am the Harvest Sprite of Fire, Alan. Thanks for summoning me. If we ring this bell, then we can restore warmth back into this land."

"Sounds good to me." I said.

"Let us do it!" Finn said.

"Okay!" Alan then turned to face the red bell. "Bell of Fire! Ring out your strong and burning melody! May your tune carry across the entire land!"

Alan then spun around once, and to my surprise, the bell magically rang on its own. It was a long and loud ring, and it sounded soothing. It was one simple ring, yet it sounded like a thousand melodies playing. As quick as the bell ringing started, it was over.

"Thank you, Danny," Alan said, smiling. "I'm so happy that the power of fire has been restored to the land! I shall return to the Harvest Goddess, now! See you soon, and good luck in finding the rest of the bells!"

Finn and I waved to Alan as he started to fade. Suddenly, I had a thought about the other bells.

"Wait, Alan!" I tried to stop him, but he had already faded altogether. "Rats…"

"What's wrong?" Finn asked.

"I was going to ask him where the other bells were at."

"If he knew, he would have told us," Finn said. "The Harvest Sprite's energies are not strong enough to sense another unless they are very, **very** close."

"So, is that how you were able to sense Alan and the Red Bell down here?"

"Yes! If we should be near any of the bells in Castanet, then I will let you know."

"Hm, you don't seem so useless after all." I said, smirking at the fairy.

"H-Hey!" Finn shouted, but I was not willing to listen as I left.

I felt relieved that in one day, I was able to find one bell, and I was closer to saving the land. I had hoped that it would be this easy, but I was foolish and forgot that life was unpredictable.

* * *

_I'd like to thank _**Harvest Loon**_ and_ **Tempest Bound **_for taking the time out of their busy lives to review and Beta my stories. They are one of the few amazing people in this world who have a passion in writing, so if you can, take the time to check their page out. Again, your thoughts and feedbacks are welcomed. Until next time, take care! _


	7. Getting Lost

_What's going on, audience? Today, I've brought you chapter seven in my story 'Mind of Peace'. Just for the record, here's a short recap of what's happened so far:_

_-Danny moved to Castanet yesterday, meeting everyone in Harmonica town and the Flute Fields._

_-He received a calf from Cain and Renee, and named her Betty._

_-The next day, he meets everyone in the Garmon mines and meets the Harvest Goddess._

_-Finn joins him in his quest to restore Castanet._

_-Danny helps Owen in the mines, and in the process, they find Alan and the Red Bell and ring it._

_-So far, only a day and a half has passed for Danny, and he's already thrusted into epicness :D_

_Anyways, I hope you enjoy!_

* * *

**7.**

"We did it! The Harvest Goddess will be so proud of us! We're just one step closer to reviving the Divine Tree!"

Finn continued to chatter aimlessly the entire time it took to walk back home. I had passed the Garmon Mine district and was now headed down the mountain trail that led back to the JimmyJean Ranch.

"Danny? _Danny_!" Finn shouted.

"What?!" I finally responded.

"I don't know why you won't talk to me!" Finn exclaimed, flapping his arms around angrily.

"Well, I'm not that talkative to begin with, Finn. And besides, no one can see you. So if I did talk to you, and if I was caught, then it would look like I was crazy."

"But you're not, because you really are talking to me."

"Yes, but no one else would know that. I'm not going to take that chance." I grinned at the fairy, and he started shouting and fussing.

"Ah! You're the most stuck up person ever! "Finn exclaimed. "We're supposed to communicate! We're partners!"

"Yeah, but that's it," I said. "I help you find the bells, restore the land, and save the Divine Tree. What else is there for us?"

It was then Finn became strangely quiet. I stopped in my tracks and turned to him; he hung his head low, and appeared gloomy. I instantly felt bad for what I said.

"I'm sorry, Finn," I apologized. "I didn't mean it like that."

The fairy suddenly started bawling, his wailing voice piercing my ears like the shriek of a fire truck.

"Finn, I said I'm sorry!" I shouted over him, plugging in my ears. "You're a great partner, and I know I can't do this without you! Just please, stop crying!"

The sprite immediately stopped, and he grinned at me. "Okay! That's all I wanted to hear."

I instantly regretted what I had said and wanted to take back my words. But I just shook my head and muttered, "Whatever" and continued walking, while Finn chuckled behind my back.

* * *

When I reached my farm, I decided to take a rest inside my house. Finn flew around the place, inspecting every corner.

"Boy, this house sure is run down," he told me. I concurred; the floor was dirty, the shelves were dusty, and the walls had dry paint that was peeling, making it look more like a rundown shed.

"A house is still a house. But you're more than welcome to sleep outside if you don't like it here."

"Argh, I hate you so much, Danny!" Finn started throwing his arms around again. Honestly, I found it quite amusing to annoy the little sprite.

I still had energy left, despite mining with Owen earlier, so after a while, I took both the axe and the hammer outside to clear away the rocks and stumps that littered my garden plot. There was still a good amount of day light left when I finished clearing them, but by that time, I was too exhausted to do anything else. However, I was happy that I finally had a clear land for gardening, and I figured I would buy more seeds later to plant more crops.

"I really like Betty!" Finn said from his position, sitting on top of the storage box. "She's very friendly towards me."

I was shocked at what had Finn said. "Wait a second; she can s_ee _you?"

"Oh, that's right; humans can't see me, but animals can! And I can talk to them, too!"

"How is that going to help us?" I asked.

"There may be some animals that know something about the bells we're looking for. They are also a lot smarter here than other animals from different lands."

"Huh," I said thoughtfully. "I guess that adds to the small list of things that you are useful for."

"_Hey_!" Finn started shouting again while I chuckled.

As I finished up cleaning the garden plot, I notice Betty making her way back to the barn. She looked up and spotted me. I had known this calf for a little over a day, yet I already knew how she would react towards me; as soon as Betty caught sight of me, she charged straight at me. I did not hesitate to run as fast as I could.

"Finn! Tell her to stop!" I yelled as I ran in circles around the farm, trying to throw Betty off track, but it did little to stop her.

"Why should I?" I saw that Finn hadn't moved an inch and was just sitting on the box and watching the shenanigan. He had his arms folded across his tiny chest indignantly. "You're a mean person, so I think you deserve it."

"Finn, I mean it!" I shouted as I continued running. "Tell her to stop, or I swear to the Goddess, I will come back from the dead and haunt you!"

But the fairy ignored me, and I ran into the open meadow a few yards past my farm. I considered Betty to be the fastest calf in the world, as in moments, she had caught up with me. I could only watch in horror as I felt her head bash into my body, sending me flying into a large thicket some yards away. However, instead of landing in a pile of dry leaves and twigs, I fell into a deep pool of water.

"What the-? What is this?"

I inspected the pool, feeling the warm water that had heat rising from the bottom. It was almost like a hot spring. The touch of the water felt relaxing. It surprised me that a hot spring would be hiding right behind my farm.

"Danny?" Finn had appeared and found me in the pool. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah," I said, still touching the water. "I feel great, actually."

* * *

After drying myself and changing into new clothes, I felt more rejuvenated, like my strength was restored. It was a strange feeling, but I didn't bother to think on it. I kept the newly found hot spring in the back of my mind. With new energy to help me, I decided to head to the Marimba Farm to buy the seeds that I wanted.

The walk was incredibly long; from my ranch to the Flute Fields, it took would take twenty minutes. I figured it would take another twenty to get back. All in all, one trip would take at least an hour just walking. I made note to find a faster means of transportation as soon as possible, or else I would be off to a slow start. When I reached the entrance of the Marimba Farm, I was greeted by the blonde spiky haired kid, Taylor.

"Yo, Danny!" he waved to me.

"How you doing, buddy?" I greeted him in return. "Are your parents still selling any seeds?"

"Yep! We still don't have much, but we're more than happy to sell to you," Taylor said.

"Sounds good," I replied.

I entered the shop and found Taylor's mom, Ruth, and I greeted her with a wave.

"Can I help you with something?" she asked plainly. I noticed she didn't seem quite as grumpy as the day before.

"Yes," I nodded. "I was hoping I could buy more turnip seeds, and perhaps some cabbage seeds."

"Well, we don't have much variety, but we do have those." Ruth then began searching the shelves behind the counter. "Although, I must warn you that it's been hard growing things on these lands."

"So, I've heard," I said. "I'm just hoping I can get by, though."

Ruth then scoffed a bit. "All I can say is, good luck, cause you're really gonna need it. However…"

The sudden pause in her voice made me feel uncomfortable.

"…However, I'm starting to think that there may be hope. Just earlier today, I swore I heard a melody, kind of like a bell, echoing through my whole house. It was loud, yet soothing. I asked my husband, Craig, and Taylor if they heard the same thing, and they did. Have you heard anything?"

I was thinking that she was referring to the red bell. I never thought that the melody I heard would be heard by these people, as well. It made me wonder if every villager in Castanet heard it.

"No," I said, lying to Ruth. "I didn't hear anything."

"Well, I guess it's just us," Ruth said, shrugging. "This family is quite crazy. Anissa is probably the only sane one out of us all."

"Anissa?" I inquired.

"She's my daughter. She's looks about as old as you. But she's gone off to another place to help us look for better seeds."

"When will she return?" I asked.

"I don't know," Ruth sighed. "It's been a couple of months now, and we haven't heard from her. Maybe if things start to look up here, she'll return, but other than that, I just don't know."

"Well, I wish her the best." I started to take pity on Taylor's family, as well as the rest of the villagers. After realizing there _was _a Goddess that watched over the lands, my whole perspective had changed.

* * *

I bought what I had needed, which had left me little money left, enough to buy only a big mac from McDonalds. Funds were coming in quite slow, and I didn't know how long it would take for my crops to grow and ripen. I couldn't rely on gathering wild berries and mushrooms the entire time, and Betty wasn't old enough to start producing milk yet. Despite the fact that I had been chosen to save a dying land, there were still smaller, more real problems, at hand, not to mention that I still had to pay the 5000g house payment to that annoying Hamilton.

"So, Danny, are we off to find the next bell yet?" Finn's appearance startled me.

"Dammit, Finn, you need to let me know when you're going to show up, instead of just randomly appearing out of nowhere."

"Sorry!" Finn started pouting, "but I have to follow you, and you're always telling me to be quiet around other people, and that's exactly what I do!"

"I'm still not used to a fairy following me around," I said. "I'd prefer that you just stay at the farm whenever I'm out."

"Oh, I hate you! You're so unfair! Just wait 'till I get Betty to hit you again!"

"Do that, and not only will I have Betty for steak, but I'll add a side of fairy stew to it, as well."

Finn started boiling, shouting at me in his high pitched voice. I simply chuckled and made my way back to the farm.

But as I came up to the cross road, I saw Cain walking towards me, with a horse pulling a large wagon full of lumber.

"Hey, Danny!" he waved. "How's it goin?"

"I'm doing great, sir," I said. I then pointed to the lumber. "What's with all that?"

"Oh, I was just thinking about adding a few adjustments to the chicken coop," Cain said. "So, I was at the Fugue Forest to cut some lumber."

"The Fugue Forest?" I asked, rather curiously.

"Oh, that's right," Cain said. "You're new here, so it's understandable that you wouldn't know. It's a forest that's right off the Flute fields to the north over there."

He pointed north, and I looked to see the trees in the distance.

"However, you might not wanna go there without an axe or if you're not familiar with the woods. There's rumors that the trees are alive, angry at those who trespass in their territory. They will block your way back to the outside, and you will never escape."

I just stared at Cain in disbelief. I saw Finn's reaction, and he looked pretty scared.

"I'm just joking!" Cain laughed loudly. "I didn't mean to scare ya like that!"

I smiled a bit and laughed awkwardly. "Haha… good one…"

"Anyways," Cain continued, "Fugue forest is a good place to get lumber. If you can get enough materials, you can ask Dale and his carpenters to rebuild your house, unless you wanna do it by yourself."

"I think I'll need that upgrade as soon as I can," I said.

"Well, I gotta get back to my farm before my wife starts throwing a fit about me being out all day. Plus, my daughter is a great cook, so I can't wait for dinner. But take care, Danny!"

"Thanks, sir. You, too."

* * *

We went our separate ways before Finn stopped me.

"Danny! Where are you going?!" he shouted, tugging onto my shirt.

"Where do you think? Back to the farm."

"No! We have to go to the Fugue Forest!"

"The Fugue Forest? I know that my house is in bad shape, but I think I'll have to upgrade it later."

"I'm not talking about getting lumber! I'm talking about the Witch."

"T-the what?"

"_The Witch_!" Finn shouted louder, bringing me to cover my ears.

"I heard what you said; I just didn't believe what you said."

At this point, I considered anything highly improbable or unexplainable, like fantasy, to be real. I figured I would just go along with it, not wanting to question life. I had to remind myself that I spoke with a goddess and I had a sprite that followed me everywhere I went.

"There's a Witch that's been living in Castanet for a long time," Finn said. "She resides in the Fugue Forest."

"And why would I want to visit a witch out of randomness?" I asked.

"She may know something about the bells! As far as I know, you and I have no clue of where to search next."

"Hm, you do seem to make a point, Finn. But as much as I want to save a dying land, I still need to finish my farm first."

Finn was not as understanding. "No! We have to do it now! Can't you see that the situation is dire?!"

I figured that there was no way to get past this fairy; if things didn't go his way, he would start complaining in his squeaky little voice, and by all that was good on this earth, it was VERY annoying.

"Fine," I sighed heavily. "Then let's go meet your stupid witch."

I walked in the direction where Cain had pointed, and eventually the path led into a cluster of trees, which I figured was the entrance of the woods. As I continued walking on, I noticed the trees started to fall in closer together. It was dark; the sunlight barely penetrated the canopy of the branches overhead.

"Finn, where exactly are we supposed to go?" I asked him. I was still agitated.

"Well, the witch resides deep in the forest," Finn responded. "Or at least that's what I heard from the Goddess."

"So, you _don't _know…"

"Look, all I know is that the witch has lived here for a long time, maybe a hundred years. She may know something about the bells that we don't, so we have to find out!"

"I still think this is a waste of time," I muttered.

I just kept following the path as I went deeper into the woods. There were curves here and there, and it soon started to look like a maze. Still, I kept walking, hoping to see a sign.

"Finn, it's been half an hour now," I said, sitting down on a tree stump to rest. "We need to get back before it gets dark."

"But the witch is close, I know it!" Finn kept insisting, but I wasn't willing to listen.

"Finn, the way we're traveling now, Cain maybe right in that we may never get out."

"C'mon, Danny! We can't give up just yet!"

But I just stood up from the stump and walked in the opposite direction, ignoring Finn as he shouted at me. The woods had become darker, and I could not see the sun rays through the trees anymore. I took a look at my watch, which read 5:50 PM. I had to get back to my farm soon. But as I kept walking, I suddenly took notice of a lone stump, which seemed awfully familiar.

"Danny?" Finn was lagging, but he finally showed up. "Danny, why did you stop?"

I was in disbelief as I continued to stare at the stump. "See that stump, Finn?"

"Yeah, what about it?" he asked.

"That stump looks familiar," I said.

"How? Is that the same stump you sat on earlier?"

"Yes…"

"So what? You sat on that stump, and then we left, and then…"

It took Finn a while, but he finally realized what was going on.

"We walked in the opposite direction," I said. "How did we end up back here?"

"Danny?" Finn tried talking to me, but I was lost in my thoughts.

"Cain's story can't be true, can it? It doesn't make sense. We couldn't have just walked in circles…"

I shook the thought out of my head, and continued walking, with Finn behind me. I kept thinking to myself, _there is no way that trees can move on their own, can they?_

I quickened my pace, trying to find a way out. But after a few moments of walking, the same stump I sat on showed up again.

"Woah…"

"Ah! How do we get out!" Finn started shouting.

"It was your damn fault, Finn!" I scowled at him. "You wanted to find your witch so badly. Now we're caught in a magically evil forest!"

"I just want to save the Divine Tree as fast as possible."

"Well, we can't save anything if we're _dead_!"

I just continued walking on, trying to get the thought of being lost out of my mind. I felt as if I had walked for hours, trying to find my way back out. I kept denying it, but the fact was, I was lost.

"Where am I supposed to go?" I asked myself, breathless as I leaned against a tree.

"Danny, we have to get out!" Finn shouted frantically.

"Panicking won't get us anywhere," I said. "Can you not warp us out?"

"I don't have that kind of power," Finn said, looking around in distress. "It's getting so dark… I'm scared."

I then noticed Finn was cuddling to himself, away from where I stood. I then heard him start to weep softly. Suddenly, I started taking sympathy for him, despite knowing that he was the one who got us lost in the first place. I picked up the fairy, holding him close to me. He was very small, and he fit in my palm easily.

"Don't worry. We'll make it out of here somehow," I said, reassuring the fairy.

"It's not that I'm scared of being lost…" Finn began. "It's just, everything is _my_ fault. I try to be a good worker, to be a good leader. Alan is a reliable sprite; that's why he has his own bell. I don't. I feel useless."

"Well, not really," I said. "You do have your useful traits. And I think for you to be a good leader, you need to have the qualities of responsibility, initiative, and effectiveness. Cheer up. You'll be okay."

Finn sniffed a little before he smiled. "Thanks, Danny."

I returned a smile back to him. "Anytime. Now, let's try to get out of-."

* * *

Before I could finish my sentence, I saw two lights appear through the darkness of the forest, and the sounds of footsteps approaching.

"Hey, Danny!" I heard a voice yell.

"That sounds a lot like Cain," I said to myself.

"Danny, where are you?" I heard another voice call out.

"That sounds like Renee, too," I said to myself.

"Did they come looking for us?" Finn asked, his eyes looking hopeful.

"I don't know, Finn. But I think we're in luck!"

I ran towards the light, waving my hand in the air and shouting

"Hey! I'm over here!"

As I approached the lights, I saw two figures looking at me. Indeed, it was Cain and his daughter, Renee, both of them holding lamps. I had never felt more relieved in my whole life.

"Danny!" Renee cried.

"Oh, thank goodness we found you!" Cain said.

When I finally caught up to them, I stopped to catch my breath.

"How did you know where to find me?" I asked.

"Well, I saw you walking towards the woods earlier," Cain started explaining. "Seeing as you were new, I figured you needed a guide. But you just up and went by yourself. I watched for a while, hoping to see you come out of the woods. But when it got dark, I began to worry."

"My father knew he couldn't leave you alone," Renee said. "So I came to help, as well. Are you okay?"

I nodded my head graciously. "I'm fine. Thank you for your concern, and thank you for saving me."

"It's not a problem," Cain said. "But you should be more careful next time you come here. Who knows what might've happen if we didn't find you."

"Thanks for the advice," I said. "You guys are life savers."

* * *

Cain and Renee nodded their heads, and I was happy to have been found by them. I followed them, and eventually, we were out of the woods and back into the Flute Fields. Indeed, it was dark; the stars were already out, and the moon was partially covered by a few clouds overhead. The time read on my watch read 7:20 PM.

"You think you'll be alright heading back yourself?" Cain asked me.

"I'll be fine, sir," I said. "But thank you so much for everything. I wouldn't know what to do without you guys."

"No need to thank us," Renee said, smiling.

"Well, we'll be heading back to our farm," Cain said. "Take better care of yourself, and try not to get lost along the way."

"I won't," I said, laughing.

Cain and Renee left towards the Horn Ranch, but I noticed Renee take one final glance at me before leaving.

"You sure you'll be okay?" she asked, with concern in her voice.

"I'll be fine, thanks to you guys," I said. "I'm little hungry, but it's not a problem."

Renee smiled warmly at me. "Well, just take care of yourself and the farm."

"I will," I said, nodding my head. "Good night, Renee."

"Good night, Danny." And then she left.

"You okay, Finn?" I asked him. He had been clinging onto my shoulders the entire time. "You sure were quiet."

"You did tell be to be quiet when you're talking to others," the sprite responded.

I just shook my head, trying to hide my grin. "Well, let's just get home."

And so I left, making my way across the bridge that connected the flute fields to my farm. As I continued walking along the path that was beside the beach, I suddenly noticed a glint of light coming from the shores.

"What is that?" I asked. As I leaned closer to take a look, it had the appearance of somesort of bell.

"Danny," Finn started. "I think... I think that's another bell!"

* * *

_That's all I have for today. A little note: G's will be measured in a weird way to be kind of like real life money. For example; 50gs= .50 cents, or 150gs= $1.50. So on and so forth, but that's how it works in this story. Many thanks to Tempest Bound and Cotton Candy Mareep for Beta-ing and helping me out. Please check their page out and read their stories; they are awesome authors! And many thanks to you for reading. Feel free to leave a review, if you wish. Until next time, take care!_


	8. Indiana Jones and the Yellow Bell

_What's going on, audience? Today, I've brought you chapter 8 of Mind of Peace. Some of my readers have asked for me to include more of Danny's past. For the sake of the story's progress, I may give little hints and flashbacks of his past here and there, but I'm not planning to go too indepth, as that may take too long. Anyways, no copyrights intended, but I hope you enjoy!_

* * *

**8.**

"Danny," Finn started. "I think… I think that's another bell!"

I leaned in to take a closer look at the object sticking out of the sand on the beach, and indeed, it was a bell. I ran down to the shoreline with excitement and took a good look at the yellow bell; it appeared old, dirty, and rusty as it lay in the sand. There was a large crack that ran down the middle, and it appeared as if a piece of the bell would break off. It seemed to have been here for quite some time. But something was really odd about the bell, and my excitement died down.

"Finn, the red bell we found earlier today was on a pedestal, right?" I asked him.

"Yeah. Why?"

"Well, if this is another bell that we are supposed to look for, then why is it here in the middle of a beach? Where's its pedestal? Will it still work without it?"

"I-," Finn started, but stopped mid-sentence. "Hm… I don't know."

Finn pondered to himself before speaking again. "It's also strange. The bell is here, but I don't sense the energy of the Harvest Sprite. I wonder what's wrong. We have to ask him."

I would have gladly done what Finn suggested, except the only problem was that I didn't have my hammer.

"We gotta go back to the farm," I said to him. "Besides, I need to check up on Betty, anyways. Can't leave her in outside during nighttime."

* * *

Finn agreed, and we both decided to come back after we got my hammer. I was relieved to see that Betty was still at the farm when I got back, as she was laying in front of the barn, sound asleep. However, there was a problem; she was blocking the barn door, so I couldn't open it to make her go back inside her pen. Another problem was the consequences I would have to face if I were to awaken a sleeping, angry calf. Suddenly, I had an idea.

"Finn, can you wake Betty up?" I asked him.

"Why?" he looked at me, confused.

"I need to open that door, but I can't wake her up. She might respond better to you."

Finn pondered to himself. "Hm, I could do that. But why should I?"

"Finn, c'mon. That calf trusts you more than she trusts me."

"I don't know. From the way you treated me before, maybe you can do this one alone."

_I cannot believe what I am hearing from this sprite! _I was starting to get frustrated at Finn's stubbornness.

"If you don't wake her up, Finn, I'm not going back to that bell." I told him.

"You wouldn't!" Finn gasped angrily.

"I would." I folded my arms in an intimidating pose. "What's it gonna be?"

"Ugh, fine!" Finn said in disgust. He flew towards the sleeping calf and poked her on the head.

"Hey, Betty," he whispered to her. "Wake up, big girl."

I saw Betty slowly opening her eyes. She looked up to Finn, and gave a loud yawn.

"Wake up, girl," Finn continued coaxing her. "It's time to get you inside."

I was amazed at how Betty listened to Finn and obeyed him. If I were to make contact with the calf, she would just ram into me. I honestly had no idea what she had against me. I continued watching Finn lead Betty away from the barn. After making sure the coast was clear, I walked up and opened the barn door.

"Alright, Finn," I called out to him. "Bring her in."

A grave mistake; my voice caught Betty's attention, and she responded with a loud '_Moo_'. The cute, sleeping little calf had instantly turned into a raging bull of death as she charged at me.

"Run!" Finn yelled.

I sprinted off towards the meadows, with Betty close behind. I thought to myself that if I were to run in a zig-zag pattern, I might throw her off. I made a sharp right turn like a football player dodging an incoming tackler. I then made a sharp left after running a few meters, and sharply turned back to my farm.

_If I could run inside the barn, she might follow me and I could trap her in her pen_, I thought quickly.

I continued sprinting towards the open barn door. She was close behind, but I made it inside, running all the way to the back room. I finally stopped and turned to face the calf, who was no more than a few inches in front of me. Instinctively, I jumped out of the way, and she slammed into the wall. This gave me time to run out of the barn and quickly close the door, just in time as she recovered and tried making a second attempt to ram me. _Not this time._

"Good night, princess," I said smugly, dusting my hands together. "See you in the morning!"

Finn had been laughing hysterically the entire time. I took offense to it.

"You think this is funny?!" I shouted at him.

"I'm sorry!" Finn calmed down for a while before he started laughing again.

It started to annoy me, so I did the only thing I could do; I took off my baseball cap, walked over toward him, snatched him in my cap and smothered him. It was amusing to hear his muffled pleads to let him go. As soon as I decided he had enough, I let him out. I then took my turn to laugh as Finn coughed and gasped for air.

* * *

After the shenanigan, I put my seeds away on the shelves and grabbed my hammer from my toolbox before heading back out to the bell. The beach was halfway between my farm and the Flute Fields, so the walk didn't take too long.

"Don't swing it too hard," Finn told me when we arrived at the bell.

"I'll try my best," I said. "The thing looks like it's about to break anyways."

Using little strength, I swung the hammer and hit the bell. I waited a few moments before the bell started glowing brightly. Yellow sparks started showering from it's rusty surface, and in moments, another sprite had appeared, with his hands covering his ears. He was colored yellow, but was more brightly colored compared to Finn.

"Hey!" the sprite shouted. "Why did you have to hit it so hard?!"

I only blinked at the fairy. "Excuse me?! I hardly used any force to hit that bell. Anymore, and I would have shattered it! I mean, have you taken a look at it yet?!"

The yellow sprite then gasped in shock. "Oh, you must be the ones chosen from the Harvest Goddess!"

"That's us!" Finn started to introduce us to the new sprite.

"Nice to meet you. I am Collin, the Harvest Sprite of earth. I need your help."

"We'll help!" Finn said. "But if I may ask; what's your bell doing out here? Where's its pedestal?"

"That's why I'm asking you to help," Collin said. "Let me explain. The Divine Tree lost its power not just because people polluted the land or stopped caring for the Harvest Goddess, but because they moved the yellow bell out of its place. Doing so caused an imbalance, and the land started withering."

"Would that explain why the soil was so bad when I was farming?" I asked.

"That's one of the factors," Collin said. "But because one bell was removed, all the other bells lost their powers over their respective elements; not to mention the rest of the Harvest Sprite's energy has severely weakened when the Goddess lost her powers. In my case, however, my energy is almost depleted."

"So, that explains why I didn't sense your energy before," Finn said. "Things must be _really_ bad, then…"

"They are," Collin's tone began to sadden. "I'll be weak forever if I don't get this bell back to its rightful place, and I won't have the strength to ring it. But on the bright side, I've got a joke."

His sudden change in subject threw me off. I felt a sweat drop down my head.

"So, anyways," Collin continued, "why did the chicken cross the road?... Give up? To get to the other side."

There was an awkward silence that fell on us. Finn and I just stared at Collin.

"See?" Collin pointed out. "Even my jokes are weak and sad."

"Well, anyways," I tried to change the subject, "how do we restore the yellow bell's power?"

"It has to be placed back on its pedestal, of course," Collin explained, "but even so, the bell has still lost its power because it has been removed. However, only by the moon, can the bell's power be restored again."

"The moon?" I looked up at the night sky to see the moon. It wasn't a full moon, but it was bright and clearly visible. "But the moon is out now."

"That's not how it works," Collin continued. "The bell must be placed on three special stones that absorb the moon's light. They are called the 'Moonlight Stones', and they are scattered across Castanet. Only by placing the bell on these three stones when the moon is out, can the bell's power be fully restored."

"So, there is a way to save the bell!" Finn sounded more hopeful.

"That doesn't sound too hard," I nodded my head in agreement. "Except for two things; first, where are the three, ummm…"

I had forgotten what they were called, and Finn and Collin quickly corrected me. "_Moonlight Stones!_"

"Yeah, that. Where are they located? Second, this bell is _way_ too heavy for me to carry all across the land. How will we restore the bell's power and get it back on its frame if we can't even carry it?"

"Carrying the bell will be something we will deal with later," Collin said. "For now, focus on finding the three Moonlight Stones, first."

"That'll just be more work for me, though." I didn't like the idea of looking for the stones without the bell. Just then, I had the craziest idea. I had no clue whether it would work, but it would save me a lot of time if it did. I took the hammer and raised it at the bell.

"Woah, Danny, stop!" Finn yelled. "What are you doing?!"

"These are magical bells, right? I'm sure they can be easily fixed. I just need one small piece, and that should still work."

"Wait!" Collin and Finn both shouted, but I didn't care to listen. I swung down hard at the crack of the bell with my hammer, and a small piece broke off.

"You just broke the bell!" Finn shouted. "Now there's no way we can-!"

"That might just work!" Collin interrupted. "You can take a piece of the bell and place it under the Moonlight Stones, and it will still absorb the moonlight. I've never thought of it like that before."

I was dumbfounded to hear that my theory would actually work. "You're kidding me, right?"

"It will work," Collin said. "You can place the shard back onto the bell once it has been placed under all three stones, and the bell will be restored."

"Well, that just made things much easier on my part, eh, Finn?" I gave a wink to the golden sprite, and he sighed heavily.

"The Goddess will not be pleased with your reckless and stupid ways."

"Hey, if it's stupid and it works, it ain't stupid."

"Thanks so much for your help," Collin said. "I will still be here when you get back. Please hurry and restore the yellow bell."

Finn and I both watched as Collin faded away, leaving us alone with the rusty bell.

"At least someone appreciates my help," I said with a smug grin as I picked up the yellow bell's shard. It was about the size of a pencil, so I could easily carry it around.

"Whatever. At first, you didn't want to help us." Finn crossed his arms and looked away in annoyance.

"No, but if this is the only way to get rid of you, then I'll do what it takes."

"Oh, you!" Finn started boiling again as I chuckled and walked off the beach and back to the farm. When I returned, I cleaned my house, swept the floor and dusted the shelves, organizing all of my items, before preparing for bed. It had been a long day of traveling, mining, meeting people, Goddesses and sprites, ringing magical bells, getting lost in an evil forest, and other issues that would seem too farfetched in the real world. And I knew tomorrow would be even longer, as I would have to set out in the night to find the three moonstones, wherever they were. I was lost in my train of thoughts before Finn interrupted me.

"So, um… where do I sleep?" he asked.

"You can take the couch," I said, yawning loudly. I sat on the edge of my bed, ready to knock out.

"But, you don't have a couch," Finn said looking unpleased.

"Exactly. You're more than welcome to sleep on the floor, if you like. But then, I thought magical beings don't need to sleep."

"_Why _did the Harvest Goddess choose such a stuck up, selfish person?!" Finn muttered as he left my bedroom.

I chuckled a little before turning off the lights and going to sleep. As I lay in bed, I thought about my new life compared to my old one. I wasn't used to such big change, but this was what I wanted. My old life was filled with people who had too many expectations from me, expectations that I could not keep. And the incident that one night had just broken the straw. I still held guilt for leaving my friends behind without good reason, for leaving my family and my old life behind. I had deserted them and I knew there was no going back. I was here on my own, and I had to make the best of it… even if it involved me being a pawn to a Harvest Goddess.

* * *

I recalled hearing someone chuckling, but it didn't quite register. That was, until I heard someone screaming my name, and I recognized it as Finn's annoying little shriek.

"_Danny_!"

I sighed heavily, pulling the blanket over me to keep the warmth of the bed close to my body. The fairy's voice kept bothering me, however.

"Danny, you have to get up! We have to go find the three Moonlight Stones!"

I groaned, not wanting to get up. But the sprite's constant annoyance finally got me to yell, "Fine! I'm up, dammit!"

I knew it was going to be a rough morning as I struggled to get out of bed. I sat upright for a few moments, rubbing my eyes, and then forced myself to get up. I heard Finn chuckling to himself, but I didn't bother to care or notice that he was carrying multiple coloring markers. I entered the small bathroom and washed my face in the sink, when I looked into the mirror and, in horror, saw my face painted in various colors of red, blue, green, yellow, and orange. I looked like I was a clown. Only one person, or rather, one sprite, was capable of this, and I finally realized why he had been giggling all morning.

"Finn," I called out to him. "Can you come here a second?"

"Why?" I heard the sprite's voice, but he didn't enter the bathroom.

"Just come here, Finn. Let me talk to you, and I promise nothing _too_ bad won't happen."

"Well… you deserve it anyways, Danny! You've done nothing but disrespect me, and I demand that you-!"

I didn't let him speak another word, as I shot out of the bathroom with my arms outstretched, ready to grab the sprite and strangle him. The fairy was too quick, however, and I chased him throughout the house.

"Finn! I'm gonna kill you!"

My rage had gotten the best of me, and I didn't care that I knocked over my chairs, a coat hanger, and a desk that made papers scattered everywhere, as I was focused on trying to get my hands around Finn. Just when I thought I had him cornered, however, he quickly evaded me, and I ended up running into the wall, further damaging the already damaged wall paint. I fell backwards, almost unconscious, but it was all part of my plan. I laid quietly for a few moments, ignoring the throbbing pain in my nose. And then, when I felt Finn was close enough, I reached out and felt his body in the grip of my wrathful hands.

"You're dead, you little sprite! I'm gonna make you suffer like you never-!"

A sudden knock at the door interrupted my speech and Finn's death sentence. We both looked towards the door way, and confirmed someone was at the door when I heard a second knock.

"Who the heck...?" I quickly let go of Finn, running to open the door and opening it. I saw a tall man standing outside. He wore a brown jacket with light brown pants and a white shirt underneath. He had long, wavy blonde hair that reached his shoulders and a strong face. His most noticeable appearance was his brown cowboy hat, however. He looked almost like an explorer of some sort. The man looked at me with a horrified expression.

"Um, I heard some loud noises inside. W-was I interrupting anything?" he asked me.

"No, sir, not at all," I said, trying to keep my composure.

The stranger continued to stare at me before shaking his head. "Sorry for bothering you at such a time. Name's Calvin. Professional archaeologist."

He reached his hand out, and I shook it. "Danny Vannes. Um, newb rancher…"

"Yes, I've heard about you," Calvin continued. "Anyways, I came to ask you if you would happen to hear my request."

"A request?" I asked. "For what?"

"It's for my field work. You see, I travel to various places searching for ancient relics or rare natural resources. I hear there is something called a 'rare ore' that can be found only here in Castanet in the Garmon mines, but I can't do it unless I have a guide."

"A guide? Me? Wouldn't you ask the people that live in that district?"

"The ones at the blacksmith are rather busy, and no one else but you has at least some mining experience."

"Well, to be honest, I've only done it for one day, and it wasn't exactly for mining. But if someone does ask for help, then I'd be more than willing to hear them out."

"That would be great!" Calvin nodded his head, smiling.

"Just, uh, let me get dressed and cleaned up first," I said, pointing my thumb into my house.

Calvin crossed his arms, looking at me in amusement. "Yes, you look like you need to. If I may ask, are you also a party clown?"

_Oh, my face! _I had forgotten that Finn butchered my face with colors. My revenge on the sprite would have to wait later. I let Calvin wait outside for me while I got rid of the markers on my face, cleaned my house after chasing Finn, and got dressed. But my morning chore were not done yet. I had hoped Betty had forgotten the whole ordeal from last night.

* * *

"You might wanna stay back, Mr. Calvin," I said to him when we were in front of the barn. I breathed in and exhaled slowly, and then opened the barn door. As I opened, I made sure to keep my distance just incase she was waiting. I waited for a while, but nothing happened. I peeked inside, and sure enough, Betty was still there, but she was sound asleep.

"Huh, so you own your own cattle?" Calvin asked. He then walked up to her, and my heart started racing. My facial expression was full of fear.

"Wait! You don't want to do that!" I shouted to him, but it was too late. He knelt beside the sleeping calf and started petting her. I looked away, as I couldn't bear to watch Betty wake up and take her wrath out on this man I had just met. But instead of an angry calf going on a rampage, she looked at Calvin and seemed quite relaxed. I was dumbfounded.

"She seems like quite a cute calf," Calvin said as he petted her. "My father was a rancher, so I grew up around animals, until I pursued my dream of being an archeologist."

"Oh," was all I managed to mutter. I was still shocked that Betty was friendly towards Calvin, and even towards Finn. I had no idea why she hated my guts.

After letting Betty out, I planted the cabbage seeds I had bought yesterday, watering them and my other plants, before heading out to the Garmon mines with Calvin. I made sure Finn stayed close behind us.

"Tell me about yourself," Calvin said to me as we walked. "Where do you come from?"

"I moved here from the city," I said, thinking about my history. "Far away place. I just happened to have a flyer show up right in front of my door that talks about being a rancher here. Next thing I know, I'm starting a new life."

"I see," Calvin said, nodding. "I used to live in the city, as well. I've spent time at many universities doing research for my archaeological works. But I soon figured I needed to go out into the world, to see things for myself instead of just looking at pictures from a thousand page book. My travels had me winding up here."

"And have you found anything interesting in your works?" I asked him.

"Indeed. When I first started out, I had hoped to look for simple fossils and such, but I never thought my adventures would end up with me discovering ancient temples filled with booby traps, dangerous terrain, and remarkable treasure. I never thought my field work would have me come close to death, though I've barely escaped all of my dangerous encounters."

"What?" _Something tells me this guy is totally exaggerating, _I thought.

"So you've found ancient temples that are filled with traps and ancient artifacts, things that have not been discovered by other scientists yet, great grand treasures that could change human history forever, and you haven't been credited yet?"

Calvin gave a slight chuckle. "It seems you don't believe me. However, it's not about the money or the fame; it's about the thrill, the excitement, the adventure, to discover things that we thought would never have existed. I could care less if my findings are profitable or life changing. All I care is that it was real, and it was made at some point in human history."

"Right…"

I thought to myself that I shouldn't dwell too much on this guy's history, or why I even bothered to help him. I considered myself too nice, helping out complete strangers.

* * *

It wasn't long until we arrived at the mines. Instead of heading lower into the mines, we went towards the upper levels that went up the mountains. The first time I had met everyone in the Garmon mines, I had heard from them that no one had ever reached the summit of the mountain, or knew what was at the top. But the upper levels were much more dangerous than the lower levels.

"Are you sure there is such thing called a rare ore?" I asked Calvin as we continued walking through the mines.

"I can't be one hundred percent sure," Calvin said, looking down a map he had pulled out. "My extensive research on earth minerals has led me to believe that they are located here. There's also a bit of history about them. The ancient tribesmen that used to live here were said to have collected these ores and have a 'Harvest Goddess' bless them to create 5 objects called 'Harvest Bells'."

_Did I just hear him correctly? _I couldn't believe it when he mentioned the bells. If what he said were true, then it could help me in my quest. I found it was quite a coincidence. I looked at Finn, and he nodded his head; we both knew we had to find the rare ore.

"Hm, sounds interesting," I said, feeling a sweat drop. "Albeit a little farfetched."

"Who knows if such a thing exists," Calvin said, shrugging.

We made our way up another set of stairs, and coming into a large, clear room, when I saw another person, looking at the stone walls with a large magnifying glass. She had short green hair that was partially curled and she had green eyes. She wore a green light jacket with green shorts, almost like a green scheme, although she wore red shoes and red glasses that were rather large. I recognized her as Phoebe, Simon and Barbara's daughter. She noticed us and waved.

"Oh, you're Danny, right?" the girl asked me. "My mother met you yesterday, but I never got the chance to introduce myself."

"Yes, I'm the new rancher," I said. I noticed Calvin was quiet, almost as if he was speechless, as he stared at Phoebe. "And this is Calvin, an archaeologist."

I elbowed him, and it seemed to make him snap back into reality. "Oh, uh, pleased to meet you."

Phoebe looked at him strangely before turning her attention back to me. "So, what brings you two up here in such an isolated place?"

"Well, I came here to help Calvin," I explained. "He believes there might be rare ores of some sort-."

"_Rare ores?!_" Phoebe's sudden shout startled me, Calvin and Finn. She gasped and covered her mouth with her hands. "Oh, dear, I am terribly sorry! Please forgive me!"

"It's not a problem," I said, rubbing the back of my head.

"Anyways," Phoebe coughed a bit before resuming her usual posture. "You said you're searching for rare ores?"

"Yes," Calvin said. "I've done extensive research, traveling to various places, and I've learned that they are hidden somewhere in these mines."

"Ah, yes, that's exactly what I've heard, too," Phoebe said excitedly. "But in such a large place, you're very unlikely to find it. However, I've concluded that it can be found by a simple calculation. 45floors on this level, and 30 down below; if you would subtract those numbers from the radius of the sun rays that orbit at 4500-."

"Wait, wait, what?" I stopped her in the middle of her sentence, trying to process what she was saying.

"It's the probability of finding them," Phoebe said. "Minerals buried under these kind of circumstances would move approximately .7 centimeters every year or so, depending on the movement of the earth, which moves at an estimated 700 miles per hour. Calculate that by the velocity of mass of the gravity orbit and add it with Mansur's formula by .0348, and that will tell the mineral movements."

My brain was fried. Phoebe seemed like one of those smart types, a genius, as I would call it. I never really was good at theories or math problems. It was a wonder that I graduated from college; my math skills were quite poor.

"In English, please," I said to her.

"The rare ores should be located somewhere on the sixth floor," Phoebe said, folding her arms, looking rather agitated at me.

"Just right above us, then?" Calvin asked, looking rather impressed. "Quite the knowledgeable girl you are."

Phoebe adjusted her glasses, giving a slight smirk. "I apply it wherever it matters. This is something that I've been looking for a while now, and I'm finally so close to it."

"What a coincidence," Calvin said. "Would you like to join us, then?"

"I'd be glad to," Phoebe said with a smile.

"How did I get dragged into this?" I asked myself, shaking my head.

We made our way out of the large room, finding a set of stairs that led us up to the sixth floor. The area was a large room that was littered with stones, boulders, and crystal rocks. Some of the crystals hung on the ceilings above, while others were attached to the walls of the cavern. But there were literally hundreds that lay everywhere on the floor. I thought to myself that there was no way I would be able to find the rare ore here.

"Sure hope you know what you're talking about," I said to Phoebe.

"I'm quite positive," she replied. "Let's start here."

So, I began hammering away at the boulders and crystal rocks while Calvin and Phoebe were excavating the rest of the mine. The work wasn't as back breaking as yesterday, but I didn't have Owen's help this time. Although I didn't find what I was looking for, I did find some strange minerals I thought could be useful.

"Those are iron and copper ores," Phoebe explained to me. "Pretty common in the mines, but they are the source of income for the Garmon mines, which makes them quite valuable."

"Oh? How much, exactly?" I asked curiously.

"10 G for each iron ore, and about 20 for each copper."

I choked a bit. "Only that much?!"

"The mineral itself isn't valuable, but it's what it can do that makes it worth finding. They can be used as an energy source for many things outside of Castanet, and they can upgrade tools to be made stronger."

"Okay, that explains a lot."

Hours had passed since our search, but there was still no sign of a single rare ore. I figured this was what it was like for archaeologists when digging for dinosaur bones and other ancient relics.

"You look like you're working hard," Finn said to me after Phoebe and Calvin had gone into another room.

"Like I said; try picking up a hammer and do what I'm doing. You're lucky I haven't gotten you back yet for what you did this morning."

"Serves you right," Finn said, folding his tiny arms.

"Anyways, you think these rare ores will help us?" I asked.

"I'm not certain," Finn said, pondering. "But that man, Calvin, was right on one thing. The 5 bells are actually forged from rare metal, the refined versions of rare ores."

"You mean this shard is considered a rare metal?" I asked him, pulling out the tiny bell shard.

"Basically. The rare metals were crafted into the bells by ancient people and blessed by the Harvest Goddess so that she may control the elements of nature."

"Interesting story," I commented. "That still won't help us in finding the moonlight stones, however. You're still useless."

Finn started pouting again when I said that to him. "You insult me so many times, and I haven't done anything to you."

"You let us get lost in the forest, you purposely let Betty ram into me, and you marked me as a birthday clown while I was unable to defend myself in my sleep."

"Well, maybe if you would stop being such a meanie, I wouldn't be so mean to you!"

"Maybe if you would stop being so annoying, I wouldn't yell at you!"

"_Maybe if you would stop being such a stuck-up, I'll help you!"_

"_Maybe if you would just shut up, I won't kill you!"_

"Danny?" Finn and I froze when we heard Calvin's voice. I turned to see Calvin looking at me as if I was a madman. "Who are you talking to?"

"Oh, um, no one. I, uh, have multiple personality disorder. Very serious condition."

I gave Calvin an awkward smile, and he just shrugged it off.

"Well, anyways, have you found anything yet?" he continued.

"Nothing but iron and copper, and I believe this is what Phoebe called 'junk ore'," I said, holding up a black slab of rock. "If you're looking for these, there's plenty of it here."

Calvin gave a slight chuckle. "Well, let's keep searching."

I noticed Calvin scratching the back of his head nervously. It made me raise an eyebrow. "Something wrong?"

"Nothing in particular," he said nervously. "I'm just curious; do you know that girl well?"

"I've only just met her," I said, rolling my eyes a bit.

"Oh, I'm sorry, then."

I was a bit skeptical at Calvin, when I noticed he was blushing. I then realized what he meant and grinned widely. "Ah, I see where you're getting at. You have a crush on that girl, don't you?"

"Sort of," Calvin said, looking away. "Sorry, this is quite unprofessional."

"Well, you seem enough like a ladies' man, with your top hat and all. If you want her, go get her."

"It's hard for me, though. I just can't seem to find anything to talk to her about."

"Just start off with talking about the rare ores; that seems like something you and her are both interested in."

"I-I guess I can try that."

For a man that seemed so full of himself in his exaggerations of adventures, I didn't think that Calvin would also be the shy guy. He reminded me of my old friend, Jean, who was always witty and tended to exaggerate things, too, but he always had trouble talking to girls. I started thinking about home too much, so I shook the thought out of my head. Phoebe then appeared to us, holding a strange looking white rock that she examined with her magnifying glass.

"So, any luck yet?" Phoebe asked us.

"None here," Calvin said.

"Not a thing," I replied. I then pointed to the rock in her hand. "What's that you're holding?"

"This is a white wonderful, processed after years of transformations deep within the earth. Their exact years of processing can be founded by calculating Methel's formula of 6.77X-."

"Phoebe, please," I interrupted. "I just want to know what a wonderful is."

"Sorry." She rubbed the back of her head while Calvin chuckled. "Anyways, wonderfuls are raw gemstones. Think of it like this; wonderfuls are at stage one, but there are many stages for them to go through, until they are refined into true gemstones. If they are processed correctly, then they can either turn into valuable gems or worthless glass shards. However, there's no way to determine whether a wonderful will be a gemstone or not. You can try to find the percentage of a successful process, though, if you calculate with 28 space over the number of rootsquares-."

"_Phoebe_," Calvin and I both said in sync.

"Oh, sorry. Anyways, wonderfuls are quite common in the mines, especially in the lower levels, but only certain wonderfuls can be found in certain mines. Take this white wonderful, for example. It can only be found here in the upper levels, while green and blue wonderfuls can be found in the watery cave that's located near Harmonica town."

"Very impressive," Calvin said. "What do you think, Danny?"

I didn't answer; my brain was still short circuited.

"That still doesn't help us find the rare ore," I said after snapping back to reality.

"Perhaps we should head to the seventh floor, then," Calvin suggested.

"No, no, we can't," Phoebe suddenly said, shaking her head. She had a distressed look on her face.

I raised an eyebrow at her. "Why not? We've searched everywhere on this floor. There's nothing."

"You can't go," she continued arguing. "It's dangerous."

"The mines are already dangerous enough as it is," I said.

"You don't understand; the upper levels are way more dangerous than the lower levels. No one dares to go past even the fourth level."

"But, we're on the sixth," Calvin said.

"We've already risked enough coming up this far."  
"What are you talking about?" I asked.

"There has been too many incidents involved in mining," Phoebe explained. "That lady, Mira, who works at the Koto Accessory store; a year ago, she lost her husband because he caught an illness caused by poisonous gas that can be released from breaking certain rocks in the mines here."

_So that's what happened to her,_ I thought to myself. I suddenly felt a bit ashamed for my rude thoughts. It also made me wonder if there was any way to comfort her. I remembered that Julius, the high fashioned, if rather strange, man working at the accessory store, also needed her to come back and run the store, since he had a hard time managing by himself. I gave Finn a concerned look, but it didn't surprise me that he wasn't as understanding, as his gesture suggested a 'who cares? We're still going' kind of look.

_I swear, this fairy is trying to get me killed, _I thought as I sighed heavily. It may have been dangerous, but I did need to find a rare ore. Though I had no clue what it would exactly do, it was the only leading source I had of finding the rest of the bells, and possibly, the moonlight stones.

"Alright, then," I said. "Phoebe and Calvin, you two stay here. I'll go on ahead and find that rare ore."

They both looked at me with great shock.

"Wait, you're serious?" Calvin asked.

"Danny, no," Phoebe said, trying to stop me.

"What's the worst that could happen? I'll die cause a rock farted in my face?"

Finn chuckled to himself, while Calvin looked away, trying to hide his grin. Phoebe, however, didn't buy my act.

"You can't go!" she yelled. "You've no idea how dangerous it is!"

"Well, you and Calvin both need that ore. If someone's gonna find it, it's gonna be me."

I considered myself to be stubborn at times, for no matter how many times Phoebe pleaded for me not to go, I didn't care to listen to her words.

"He's right," Calvin said. "We won't find anything if we don't take our chances, right? I like your spirit, Danny. Let's go."

The both of us continued on, and Phoebe reluctantly followed us to the seventh level.

"If things are as bad as you say they are," Calvin said to Phoebe, "then let's be extra careful. No telling which rock will be filled with poisonous gas."

"This is a serious mistake," Phoebe said with a grim tone.

"We'll be fine," I said as I began to hammer at a stubby, blue rock the size of a basketball. "Besides, I'm the one with the hammer, so I'm the one risking getting gassed, not you guys."

And then I was caught off guard when my hammer struck the rock, and made a loud _chip _sound. The rock wasn't giving in as easily as any of the other minerals I had hammered earlier.

"What the?" I struck down on it again harder, but the rock refused to chip away.

Calvin came to inspect the rock. "What's wrong?"

"I think I just lost my strength," I said sheepishly.

"I don't think so," Phoebe said, taking a closer look. "This rock is made of a different material. It's mass is also strange; normal rocks would have an average mass that is founded by centimeters of density divided by-."

"_Phoebe_!"

"Right. Anyways, try hammering at it again. This time, use all your strength."

I sighed heavily, taking in a deep breath and gathering my strength before I hammered down with all my might. Nothing happened. I tried again, swinging my hammer repeatedly, but I was only wearing myself out.

"It's not working," I said, huffing and puffing.

"Why, of course!" Phoebe exclaimed. "Why did I not see it before? Gentlemen, I think we have found our rare ore!"

I didn't believe that I would find it so quickly; I couldn't hide my shock.

"Ah, yes," Calvin said. "Rare ores have an indefinite mass and density. Their odd components make them indestructible and resistant to almost all manmade tools."

"That explains why I couldn't break it," I said, taking a seat on the cavern floor. "So that's what a rare ore looks like."

"We've been at it for a while, but we finally found it!" Phoebe exclaimed. Her excitement caused her to grab Calvin's hand, and when she realized what she had done, the both of them let go and blushed. I hadn't laughed so hard in so long.

"So, we found our ore," I said after calming down. "How do we move it? It's rather large, innit?"

"But like I told you before," Calvin said. "Its mass is indefinite, meaning that it's totally light."

"You're kidding?"

"It's true," Phoebe said. She then bent down to the blue colored rock, wrapping her hands around it, and proceeded to lift it up with no effort. I felt my jaw dropping; it was the most amazing thing I had ever seen.

"You looked so impressed," Calvin laughed.

"How exactly do you guys know about all this again?" I asked rather rhetorically.

"Years of research," Phoebe said. "I consider myself a specialist in mineral studies and scientific math."

"You should use those skills in the archaeological field," Calvin said. "You would impress all the professors that I have met in my life."

"So, you're really an official archaeologist?" she asked him.

"That's right. I've never seen someone with as much knowledge and skills as you."

As I sat and listened to the two converse with each other, I couldn't help but smile. They were two complete strangers who shared the same interest. I laughed at the thought about what would happen if I would have to play as the matchmaker.

"Guys! Sorry to interrupt the conversation, but we should really get a move on."

"Right," Calvin said. "We'll take this to the accessory store to get it refined."

"But don't we have to get Mira back first?" Phoebe pointed out. "She's the only one who can do it, and Ramsey and Owen work on tools only."

The thought frustrated me. I barely knew the woman, but Mira seemed like a woman who would be hard to convince. Feeling stumped, I slightly kicked a boulder to relieve some stress and tension, when the rock suddenly shattered and released a red colored smoke that spewed quickly into the area.

"That's poisonous gas!" Phoebe shouted. "Everyone run!"

I instinctively turned heel and sprinted away from the red gas, trying to hold my breath. I had no idea how deadly it was, but I didn't want to find out. As the four of us ran, Calvin then stopped and turned back, running back towards the gas.

"Calvin!" I shouted after him, but he didn't stop.

"We forgot the rare ore!" Calvin shouted. "I'm going to get it!"

"Calvin, forget it!" Phoebe pleaded.

I cursed to myself and looked at Finn, who was very distressed. I then ran after Calvin to help him, holding my breath and trying not to breathe the red gas that had covered the entire cavern. But as I ran, I suddenly felt the ground beneath me give in. I realized too late that I had stepped on one of the many cracks that littered the mines, and I felt myself falling downwards. I saw Calvin trying to catch my fall, but he was too late, as I fell through the ground. I blacked out as I felt the impact of the ground. As I faded, I thought about Phoebe's crazy mathematical theories, Calvin's exaggerated stories and his crush for her, Finn's annoying rant, Betty, and strangely, my family. I never thought that I would actually think about them in the last moments of my life, nor did I think that I would die in the first few days I had started my new life. I had hoped, maybe, that in these mines that I would now consider my grave, I would be able to find peace of mind.

* * *

_Something I wanted to point out; Phoebe's knowledge on minerals and math is totally made up. Any sort of evidence that otherwise shows that her theories are correct is purely coincidence. This chapter was a pain to write, but I forced myself to finish it, so don't be surprised by the numerous typos and plot holes you find. This was only one chapter! Now imagine how hard it will be for me to write the entire story! *grabs a gun and shoots myself* Anyways, thank you for reading, and feel free to leave a review. Many thanks to _**Cotton Candy Mareep **_and _**Tempest Bound**_ again, for taking their time to Beta my story. Please check their page out and read their stories. Until next time, take care._


	9. The Ancient Tablet

_What's going on, audience? Today, I've brought you chapter 9 in my story Mind of Peace. I don't own Harvest Moon, of course. No author's notes today. Let's get straight to it._

* * *

**9**.

"Danny?! Danny!"

I heard someone calling my name and it made me twitch. I kept thinking that I was still a child asleep in my bed on a Saturday morning, and my mom was calling me to wake up and eat breakfast, only to have my four older sisters steal it all.

"Danny, wake up! Please!"

I recognized that voice as Finn's. Suddenly, I remembered all that had happened; the mining, the poisonous gas, the cracks I fell through. I shot my eyes open to see a golden sprite looking down at me.

"Finn?" I managed to say. "Am I still alive?"

"Danny!" Finn exclaimed as he hugged me.

It did feel relieving to see him, but it was awkward to have him hug me, so I threw him off of me.

"Why do you always have to be so mean?!" Finn pouted.

"I just don't like people touching me," I said as I tried to sit up.

"You're so close minded all the time."

"Perhaps, but when it comes to you, I could care less."

"Hmph. Maybe it's better if you did die during that fall."

I chuckled a little. "It might be for the best. That way, I don't have to put up with your annoyance."

As I sat up, I noticed I was lying on a pile of rocks and stones that had fallen from above. I wasn't sure how far I fell, or how I was even still alive. I examined myself and, other than feeling a bit sore, I wasn't seriously injured. I then stood up and climbed down from the large rock pile and onto the cavern floor, looking at my surroundings.

"Where are we?" I asked Finn.

"We've dropped somewhere on the lower floors. I don't think we've explored this area on the lower levels yet."

"Is Calvin and Phoebe alright?" I asked.

"They're okay," Finn said. "Calvin tried to catch you, but you fell through already. I followed you down the hole to try and save you, but I'm too small and weak to catch you."

"I don't blame you," I said. "You're unreliable, anyways. I don't expect you to catch my fall."

"That's not funny!" Finn shouted, but I couldn't help but laugh.

"Anyways," I continued, "at least they're okay. Did they get that rare ore?"

"Sadly, no," Finn said. "By the time Calvin tried to save you, the gas had already filled the entire area. He couldn't go back to retrieve it."

"I see," I said. "I suppose it's not a terrible loss. What use would _we _have for it anyways in finding the moonlight stones and the rest of the bells?"

"True," Finn nodded in agreement. "Let's hurry and find our way out."

We both made our way through the mine, trying to regroup with Calvin and Phoebe, as well as finding an exit. There were a lot more rocks and boulders down here blocking our path, so I had to use my hammer excessively. But the more we explored and the more rocks I had to clear, the more tired I became. I realized I hadn't eaten since yesterday, and I was starting to feel the effects of the soreness from the fall. I was covered in dirt, dust, and sweat. The air felt thick in the mine shafts, but I was still able to breathe, albeit not easily. I had cleared away one final rock before I was forced to sit down, tired and worn out.

"Danny!" Finn pleaded. "We can't stop! Get up!"

"I'm fine," I said, trying to catch my breath. "Just let me rest for a bit."

"We have to hurry or else it'll get too late."

I checked my watch, and it read 15:10. We still had time, but Finn was right; if we didn't hurry, we might be trapped in the mines for the night. The dark, cramped shafts of the mines were not especially suited for sleeping during the nighttime, so I had to get out soon. I continued to rest for a few more moments before finally standing up and moving out. After making my way through several tunnels and corridors, I came to a path that split in two different directions.

"Which way?" Finn asked.

Both paths didn't look too promising. I figured it would be bad either way we went.

"Right," I said as I started walking down the right tunnel with Finn close behind.

I was starting to think the tunnel I chose might've been correct, as I didn't see that many rocks that blocked our path. But I spoke too soon; I continued going down the long tunnel until I came upon a boulder that blocked the entire tunnel, one just as large as the one Owen and I had to clear away. Except this time, there was no one to help me clear this large boulder.

"You gotta be joking, right?" I asked in disbelief.

"How are we supposed to get past it?" Finn asked, looking hopeless.

"Only one way," I said as I mustered my strength. I raised my hammer, walking towards the boulder, and began hammering away.

"You can't seriously clear that thing away by yourself," Finn said to me.

"No, but we don't have any other choice. If you're thrown in the deep ocean, and its sink or swim, you swim."

It was too late to go back now, and I didn't want to waste anymore time in here. My mind was set on clearing away the rock blocking our path. Plus, I remembered what Owen had told me about clearing away rubble as large as this one. I continued hammering away, taking my time and conserving as much energy as I could. It was little progress, but it was better than no progress.

"Through yet?" Finn asked. He had been sitting and waiting the entire time I worked, which had been close to an hour now.

"Not yet," I said, taking my cap off and wiping the sweat from my forehead. I had formed a large dent inside the boulder, but it wasn't close to shattering yet.

"It's already getting late," Finn said.

"Complaining isn't going to get us anywhere," I said. "Besides, I'm the one that's working to get us out of here."

I swung harder to try and speed up my work, but my arms felt too strained, my back was starting to cramp, and the fact that I was still sore from the fall made it even worse. Finally, I could no longer keep working, as I dropped my hammer. I fell, but I was able to catch myself by leaning against the giant boulder blocking my path. I leaned there, panting and breathing heavily, though it did little to help as the air felt thick.

"Danny, you okay?" Finn asked as he flew to my side, looking distressed.

"I'm fine," I said, panting between each word.

"Don't overwork yourself," Finn said.

"I have to. I'm trying to get us out of here. I only wish I had someone to help me, so that my job would be easier. It's fine, though… I'll… I'll get us through…"

I tried to reach down to pick up my hammer, but my muscles were too strained, and I felt myself fall to my knees.

"Danny!" Finn exclaimed. He flew to my side, trying to pick me up, though I found it amusing that someone his size would try such an effort.

"What are you doing?" I asked him.

"I'm trying to help you!" he yelled as he continued pulling at me. "Now get up!"

"Finn, stop," I chuckled. "I can get up by myself. You just continue to wait until-."

"No! I don't want to standby doing nothing while you're worn out! I hate not being able to do anything and feeling so useless! I've got to help somehow!"

I saw that he had tears in his eyes. His facial expression seemed frustrated. I looked on to see him trying his hardest to get me up. I then remembered what he said about himself when we were lost in the forest last night, and it made me smile, knowing that he was trying his best.

"Thanks, Finn. If you really want to help, just continue to look for the moonlight stones when we get out. Don't be too hard on yourself for being so small."

Finn looked at me, trying to wipe away his tears. He then smiled and nodded his head.

"O-okay, then," he said.

"Just remember to do your best everyday," I continued, "work hard, and everything you do, do it with a passion. You'll be strong and great one day. Now, let's try and get this rock out of the way, huh?"

I was finally able to stand up and resume my work. As I chipped away, I noticed Finn picking up small debris that had been chipped away and clearing the area. It didn't do much, but it made me smile.

"Good job, Finn," I complimented him. "Keep clearing away any rubble that you see."

"Gotcha!" Finn said, winking.

Finally, after a few more swings, I had split the rock in two halves after I had gotten through the dent, but the rock hadn't shattered yet.

_One small swing at a time,_ I thought. _One swing. One moment's rest. Another swing. Another rest. Keep the pace consistent and steady._

I thought this to myself, over and over as I continued hammering, even as my arms started to give in once more. I continued to work under the strain, motivating myself. And then, I felt a little hope as I felt the top half of the rock forming cracks and losing its shape. It was finally starting to give in and shatter. I kept working, chipping and hammering as Finn continued to pick up the rubble that had fallen at my feet. I quickened my pace, and then I was finally through the first half.

"The top layer is through!" I said, feeling exhausted, but triumphant.

"We did it!" Finn exclaimed. "Good job, Danny!"

"We're not done yet," I said, wiping my forehead. "The rock's still blocking a good portion of this tunnel. However, there seems to be just enough room for you to get through."

"What?" Finn looked on in confusion. "But, what do you mean?"

"I know this may be harsh, but I need you to squeeze through this hole and scout ahead by yourself. If you can find an exit or anything, come back and let me know, alright?"

"What about you?" Finn asked, looking concerned. "I don't want to leave you behind."

"I'll be okay," I said. "I'll continue to clear away the rest of this rock while you go on ahead. We'll only be separated temporarily. Can you do this for me?"

Finn seemed hesitant at first, sighing heavily. "Well… alright."

"Good," I said. "Just squeeze through this hole and see what you can find. Remember, we'll only be separated temporarily."

Finn nodded his head, and flew towards the open crack of the rock. He struggled getting through the top, but after some effort, he was finally through to the other side.

"Alright!" I heard his tiny voice from the other side. "I'm through!"

"Good job!" I shouted to him. "Now, go on ahead and try to find Calvin and Phoebe, or even an exit!"

"But, they can't see me, remember?!" I heard him shouting.

"It's fine! If you find them, just come back and let me know where they are! If you find the exit and you can't remember the way back to me, then don't try to look for me, okay! Just stay outside!"

"B-but what about you?!"

"Don't worry about me! I'll find you shortly if you don't come back!"

"Okay! Just be careful!"

"Good luck, Finn! Don't get lost! I'll see you in a bit!"

"Good luck, Danny!"

I listened closely, and when I made sure he left, I picked up my hammer and continued chipping at the last proportion of the rock. But I couldn't swing as hard as I did before. It seemed strange, but I felt that with Finn, I was able to continue working, even under the strains. But now that he was gone, my energy seemed to be gone. I tried hammering as hard as I could, but I had lost my momentum and energy, and I could only work a few more moments before I finally gave in and fell to the ground, nearly passing out.

"C'mon, Danny," I said to myself, trying to get up. "You can do this. Ain't nothin' but a thang."

I struggled to get up as I kept collapsing over and over again, but after a few tries, I was able to stand on my feet again. I leaned against the boulder, trying to gain my strength back before I resumed hammering away again. I looked at the time on my watch, and it read 17:30.

"Gotta work faster now," I said to myself.

I mustered what little strength I had left and resumed my work. I grunted with each swing, sweat continued to get in my eyes. Every muscle in my body screamed for me to stop, but I couldn't. I didn't know if Finn would really find anything down the tunnel, but I knew that he would come back, even if I couldn't break through this rock that seemed almost as stubborn as I was. My thoughts on Finn seemed to motivate me; it gave me a reason to continue. I was pushing my limits, forcing myself to break through. As I took one hard swing at the rock, I then felt the boulder start to crumble, little by little. This gave me enough motivation to start hammering faster.

"C'mon, you son of a bitch!" I grunted. "Shatter already! I'm not gonna die in here!"

With one final effort, I swung with all my might, and the large boulder finally collapsed in and shattered, opening the tunnel. I started laughing like a maniac, but I didn't care, as I had finally broken through.

"Yes! I did it! Not so mighty now, are you, you stupid rock! I am the mining master!"

It took the last amount of my energy to shout my victory cry, as I fell back and passed out from exhaustion.

* * *

"_Where in the world is this 'Castanet'?" father had asked me._

"_It seems so far away," mother said. "Weren't you happy in the city?"_

"_Mom, dad, I already said there's nothing for me there."_

"_Well, you haven't even tried, son," father said. "I told you that you would get nowhere if you were a journalist. I told you to become a lawyer or a doctor, or an engineer. Wouldn't it be much better if you moved back in with us?"_

"_I know. But, please understand, mom and dad, this is something I have to do on my own. If I can't prove that to you guys, then I don't deserve to come back home. You've raised me up to this point, so I need to do this. I'm sorry I can't meet your expectations, and I'm sorry I can't be the son you wanted me to be, but there is nothing else I can do here."_

"_This is an outrage!" mother yelled. "Have you even told your sisters about this? They've always known what was best for you."_

"_Like they care about me, mom," I said, lowering my eyebrows. "Besides, they're all married and living on their own. That's what I need to do, too, minus the married part."_

"_Please reconsider, Danny," mother pleaded. "I know things haven't been easy, but we just want what's best for you."_

"_Mom, this _is_ what's best for me. With no job in the city, and no purpose of being there, this is the only chance I have. I'm positive this is the best choice."_

"_You've said that plenty of times, and you've screwed them all up," father said, leaving me and mother alone. "Nothing you do ever satisfies me…"_

* * *

"Danny! Wake up!"

I recognized that shrieking voice anywhere. I felt someone tugging at my face, and it made me wake up to see who was calling my name.

"Finn?"

"Danny, you're okay!" Finn exclaimed, hugging me once more. I was almost considering throwing him off again, but instead, I let him continue to hug me until he finally let go.

"Did you find Calvin and Phoebe?" I asked him.

"No," he said. "But I found something else. Get up, quickly!"

I tried to stand up, but my body was still aching. I felt as if the boulder I had shattered was dropped on me, as I could barely move.

"C'mon, get up!" Finn pleaded. "Get up, get up, get up!"

"I'll try if you stop _shouting!_" I yelled.

My resentment towards Finn's annoyance gave me a burst of energy, and I was finally able to sit upright and stand back up.

"Danny, your hammer," Finn pointed to my hammer on the ground. I looked and saw the tip of my hammer had been dented. A large crack ran through it, rendering it useless. I figured the large boulder had really worn it out.

"It's only a hammer," I said, picking it up. "Anyways, what did you find? An exit?"

"No, even better! This way!"

He then flew down the tunnel, past the shattered boulder that now lay in a heap of shattered debris, finally clearing the way.

"Wait!" I shouted, trying to go after him. But I was still too weak, and I could only limp after him.

As I followed Finn down the long tunnel, I started wondering what he could have found. I quickened my pace, as I wanted to get out of here as fast as I could. After some time, Finn stopped in front of a passageway that led into another cavern room.

"Take a look at what's in here!" he pointed with excitement.

"What is it?" I asked him, but he didn't answer.

His face was gleaming with hopefulness, so he must've found something interesting. I entered into the next room, and I couldn't hide my shock at what I found; rare ores were decorated neatly everywhere, lining up on the ceiling and the walls. Even the floor seemed to be made out of rare ore, but it all was a different material, almost hardened and refined.

"Is this room made of rare ore?" I asked myself, looking around the blue room.

"Not quite," Finn said. "It's rare _metal_, rare ore that has been processed and refined. This must have been a special chamber created by the ancient people."

I looked in awe at the architecture of the large room. "Looks like no one's been here for centuries."

"But that's not what I was talking about," Finn continued. "Look!"

He pointed ahead towards a blue statue that resembled the shape of some sort of deity. It had a strong face with long, braided hair and large robes. He almost looked like a king. In his hands, he held a stone tablet.

"Take that tablet and read it!"

I walked towards the statue that stood nearly ten feet more than me, and took the tablet out of his hands. It was old and dusty, but I was still able to see its details and features; there was a circle with a crescent sign drawn in the middle of the shape. There were also texts that were visible below the circle shape.

"It's written in English." I started reading it aloud. "_Find where the moon touches the stone earth near the basin of the King's throne, the soft melodies of the fields, and cool ocean that stretches from the lands._"

"It's a clue," Finn said. "It talks about the moonlight stones!"

"R-really?" I was in disbelief.

"Yes! This tablet will help us find them!"

"What do you suppose they mean, though?" I asked.

"I don't know. But we'll be sure to find them."

I nodded my head, feeling hopeful about finding the moonlight stones. I put the tablet away in my rug sack, and turned to Finn.

"Good job, Finn. I'm proud of you."

He started giggling and clapping his hands. He then pointed behind me.

"There's a passage over there behind the statue that leads out of the room."

"An exit?" I asked.

"I don't know. I didn't go that far."

I was proud of Finn for doing a great job. "At least you listened to me. I was afraid you'd get lost. Then again, that might be good, cause then I won't have to deal with you anymore."

"_Hey!_" Finn started pouting again, but I took off, laughing. I walked towards the tunnel passage when I felt a slight tremor. I looked up and saw small debris starting to fall from the ceiling. And then I saw in horror a large stone falling towards me. I quickly ducked out of the way, only to see more large stones starting to fall. One stone fell ontop of the king statue, breaking it in half.

"The whole place is collapsing!" Finn shouted.

"Run for it!" I yelled, and we both ran out of the blue room. We continued running, trying to avoid being crushed by the collapsing tunnels. I had never imagined myself to be in an Indiana Jones situation; then again, I didn't know why I was thinking about Indiana Jones in the first place.

"The tunnel must be collapsing after you took that tablet!" Finn yelled.

"Looks like Calvin and Phoebes gonna be jealous, huh?!"

We continued running for our lives. And then, I felt the ground beneath me collapsing, as I had stepped on another crack.

"Not again." I could only scream in fear as I fell down again, only this time, the hole resembled something like a slide. I slid down the hole, faster and faster, and then I saw an opening at the end. I shot out like a cannonball and right into another room and into two people I recognized as I flew into them.

"What the? Danny?"

"It's Danny! He's alive!"

I heard Phoebe and Calvin talking as I struggled to get off of them.

"We thought you were gone," Phoebe said.

"I'm alright," I reassured them.

"You look like you been running for your life," Calvin said. "What was that tremor?"

"Oh, that?" I was about to tell them about the rare metal room and the stone tablet, but I was hesitant, afraid of what might happen if I were to tell them about the stones and the bells.

"Danny?" Phoebe asked me.

"Oh, I was trying to clear out a rock that blocked my way," I said, showing them my broken hammer, "and then next thing you know, the tunnel started caving in. I was lucky I fell down another one of those cracks."

"That sounds like what happened to me during one of my treks," Calvin said, chuckling. "You okay, though?"

"Oh, I'm fine," I said, smiling. "I am hungry, though. And tired. And dirty. And sore. And thirsty. And hungry."

"I think we get the point," Phoebe said, and then we all broke into laughter.

* * *

It wasn't long after that, when we finally found our way out of the Garmon mines and back outside. Phoebe and Calvin were disappointed that they couldn't get the rare ore, but I reassured them they'll find more. In exchange for helping Calvin, he offered to treat me at the Brass Bar.

"I had barely dodged the rolling rock that was coming fast at me, only to find myself falling into a deep spike pit. If I didn't grab the hanging branch in time, then I would not be here talking about how I found the golden jeweled cup of Henry César XIII." Calvin was explaining another one of his stories to me, Owen, and Ramsey, who had joined us, as we sat around a table, of us each with a cocktail in our hands.

"That's a heck of a story," Ramsey commented.

"Seems your adventure experience might be rubbing off on Danny, though," Owen said, slapping me on the back.

"It was just my bad luck," I said.

"Well, we're just happy Danny's alive," Calvin said. He then raised his cocktail to make a toast. "To his life." We raised ours and drank. The atmosphere was merry; the bar was filled with various merchants, buyers, and other customers who chose to spend their time here during the evenings.

It was then I noticed Kathy attending to another table from across the room. Something about her really sparked my interest. Ever since the first day I met her, which was exactly two days ago, so it didn't have much meaning, she had caught my attention the most.

"Hey, Owen. That's Kathy, right?" I asked him as I pointed to her.

He turned around to see her, as well as Calvin and Ramsey. "Yeah. She's been workin here for most of her life with Hayden, her father. 'Course, I've known her since we grew up together, but we never really talked that much."

"She does look nice," Calvin said as he examined the blonde. He then turned to me with a devious smile, leaning forward and resting one arm on the table. "Something up, Mr. Vannes?"

I just smiled nervously, trying to hide my blush. "Nope. Just curious."

"Hmph," Ramsey scoffed, taking another drink. "You young folks are as naïve as they come."

"Gramps, don't be so harsh on Danny like that," Owen said, chuckling. "He's seems like nice enough guy."

"Wait, are you saying I'm shy?" I asked, raising a brow.

"Well, if you aren't, then do it," Calvin said.

"So now you're pressuring me just like I pressured you with Phoebe? That's cold, Calvin."

Owen laughed at my words. "Looks like it's your turn, Danny. Go on."

"Bunch of grown men acting like fools," Ramsey grunted. He stood up and walked away, pulling out a tobacco pipe from his pocket. "I'll be outside when you're done, Owen."

"Don't mind gramps," Owen said to us. "He takes things too seriously."

"Seems like a grumpy man," I said, nodding my head.

We were silent for a moment before Calvin started nudging me. "Well, we'll still waiting."

I raised my eyebrows. "You guys aren't really suggesting that I just walk up to her, right?"

They both shrugged their shoulders with stupid looks on their faces, not wanting to answer. I could only shake my head and take another drink. And then, the blonde waitress appeared to our table.

"You fellas doin' alright?" Kathy asked us in her cheerful tone. Her sudden appearance made me choke on my drink.

"Everything's fine," Owen and Calvin responded.

"Glad to know you guys are enjoying yourself," Kathy said as she picked up our empty bottles. She then turned to me and smile. "How are you, Danny? I believe this is your first visit for the night. I'm glad you came."

I swallowed my drink, forcing myself to talk. "Y-yeah. It's been a long day of working. This gentleman, Calvin, is treating me out."

Calvin tilted his hat to her. "It's a pleasure, ma'am."

"And it's good to see you, as always, Owen," Kathy said to the big man.

"Just happened to run into these two fellows. We're just chatting."

"Well, let me know if you boys need anything." And then Kathy left. My eyes followed her as she went back to the bar towards Hayden.

"Danny." Calvin's voice snapped me from my trance.

"Huh? Wha-?"

"You say you're not shy?" Owen gave me a skeptical look, folding his arms.

"I've been to plenty of bars and clubs," I said defensively. "I've talked to plenty of girls during my time in college. What makes you think I'm shy or nervous?"

"You could barely form a sentence when she was talking to you, you choked on your drink, and you were gazing at her the entire time she walked back." Calvin gave me a sly grin, while Owen shook his head, sipping on his drink.

"You know what?" I was starting to get offended. I downed the rest of my drink, and stood up. "I'll prove you guys wrong. Talk all you want, but no one is taller than the last man standing."

I summoned my courage, straightening my back with my chest out and shoulders apart. I walked away from my table and up towards the bar. I was close to approaching Kathy, but she then left to serve another table. Trying not to appear so awkward, I sat down on one of the stools in front of the bar and ordered a drink from the bearded man.

"One blueberry, please."

The man reached over the shelves, pouring the drink in a small mug and handing it to me.

"Thanks. Hayden, right?"

"Yes," he responded, taking out an empty mug and cleaning it. "And you're Danny, the new rancher. How's it coming along?"

"Can't complain," I said, taking a sip. "It's going rather slow, but that's to be expected."

"True," Hayden said.

"Is business getting better?" I asked him.

"Not exactly. But something strange happened the other day; I swore I heard a melody of somesort. It sounded soothing, like it lifted my spirits. Next thing you know, our cooking stoves and the fire is much stronger and working properly. I don't know if it's just me, or if something happened."

I knew he was referring to the red bell, but I kept silent.

"Unfortunately, it's done little to help business, though," Hayden continued. "But just like my daughter always said; we'll still find a way to go on. That girl has always been optimistic and enthusiastic."

"I see," I said, taking another drink.

I then saw a man in an apron appear from the door behind the bar, calling to Hayden, when I remembered his name was Chase.

"Yo, we're out of tomatoes! Any more stocked?"

"Did you check the cabinet beside the freezer?" Hayden asked him.

"Already did," Chase said, rolling his eyes. "If I don't have those tomatoes, then I can't make that bouillabaisse."

He then noticed me as he glanced towards my direction.

"Yo," I said, waving to him. He ignored me, shutting the door.

"Is he always that rude?" I asked Hayden.

"Don't mind Chase," he told me. "Kid's a great cook, but has problems talking to people. He's a bit blunt at times."

"Sounds kind of like me," I muttered, taking another sip.

"I need three more orders." Kathy's sudden appearance made me jump a bit, causing some of my drink to spill on my shirt.

"Well, Chase is still working on it," Hayden said to Kathy. "Those folks are just gonna have to wait."

"Dad, this is the third time tonight. We'll lose our customers at this rate."

"Don't you know we're short on supplies? We'll just have to make it up to them."

"We can't, and you know that, dad. Things are just going downhill. I'm tired of trying to sugarcoat it."

Kathy sighed heavily, setting two plates down and brushing her blonde away aside. She and Hayden clearly seemed frustrated.

"Well, I'm going to take five, dad. Be back in a bit." She then left towards the exit and stepped outside.

"So you're not lying when you say business is bad?" I asked Hayden.

He nodded his head, not saying a word. I could tell he looked frustrated. I gave a long exhale, finishing my drink before I finally decided to approach Kathy. As I went outside, Finn flew into my face, shouting and tugging at me.

"Danny, I'm so _bored!_" he screamed. "I'm tired of waiting for you outside. Let's go home, now!"

I noticed just ahead Kathy, leaning over the ledge and looking out across the ocean. I simply pushed Finn aside and approached her.

"Seems like something's on your mind," I said to her.

She seemed almost startled as she turned around to me. "Oh, hey Danny! Sorry 'bout that ruckus back there."

"It's fine. You and everyone in this town are all going through some hard times, it seems."

She nodded her head, folding her arms. "Things have been pretty rough. Sure, the fire seems to be normal again, but it doesn't really help us out, much."

"If only there was some way I could help," I said, while thinking in the back of my mind the harvest bells.

"Anyways," Kathy said, resuming her cheerful personality. "What brings you outside?"

"Oh, I saw you looking a bit frustrated when you were talking with your dad, and I just wanted to talk."

She giggled, covering her mouth. "Oh? Talk about what?"

"You know… just talk." I started feeling nervous, trying my best not to look like a coward. I shifted uncomfortably and put my hands in my pocket.

"Sure! I'm open to anything." Kathy's smile only made me more nervous.

"Oh, just, you know..."

Kathy couldn't control her giggle. "You know, you seem like the kind of guy who has trouble approaching a woman."

"Am not!" I shouted in a sarcastic matter.

"You see? It's hard not to notice your red face."

I touched my right cheek, and it felt extremely hot. I heard Finn chuckling behind me, but I ignored him as I tried to cover my face.

"But you know something," she continued, "you're actually the first guy who seems decent enough to actually have the guts to talk to me. And not in a rude manner, like most other men."

Kathy's words lifted my spirits, and all of a sudden, I didn't feel so nervous anymore. I smiled at her, and she gave me a wink.

"Thanks, Kathy. I'd just like to get to know everyone in this town better, since I'm living here, now. Especially you. Hope you don't mind."

"Well, you know where I live," Kathy said. "Like I told you the first day; you're always welcome to the Brass Bar. I'll be more than glad to see you, and my dad will be, too."

* * *

We smiled at each other, trying to think of the next thing to say, when someone called out to us.

"Danny and Kathy! It's so nice to see you two out here on such a lovely evening!"

I turned to see the annoying Mayor Hamilton, cheeky and rosy as usual. Standing beside him was a serious-looking young man. He had blue eyes and his eyebrows were lowered. His blonde hair was combed in a professional looking style, partially covering his left eye. He wore a white vest over his blue button dress shirt and khaki pants. He looked like professional worker with a high stature.

"Evening, mayor," I greeted Hamilton, while keeping my eye on the stern guy.

"Hello, Hamilton," Kathy waved to him. "Good to see again. And you too, Gill!"

_Gill? _I figured that was the guy's name. He only looked at us and nodded his head, not saying a word.

"Just droppin' by the bar with my son," Hamilton said. "You know that he returned just today, so we're celebrating his arrival."

_You have a son? _I continued to examine the young man; he looked just about as conceited as Chase.

"Oh, that's right!" Kathy exclaimed. "It's wonderful to see you again, Gill. Hopefully, your business trip went well!"

Gill nodded his head again, keeping his hands in his pockets. _The guy's not very social, is he? _I thought, feeling a sweat drop. As Kathy and Hamilton continued to talk, I then saw Gill's head turning towards Finn's direction. I was afraid he saw Finn for a second, when I remembered that only I could see the sprite.

"It's good seeing you two once again," Kathy said, ending the conversation.

"You, too. Though I hope business goes better for you and your father," Hamilton said. He then left for the bar, but Gill stayed behind.

"So, you're Danny, right?" the blonde haired man asked me. "My father has told me of your coming."

"That's right," I said. "I don't believe we've met when I first arrived, but at least I get to meet you, now. Where exactly did you travel to?"

Gill scoffed. "Hm. It's not really any of your business. You wouldn't understand even if I explained it to you."

His response shocked me a bit. "Alright, then… you sure are rude to people you've just met."

"I'm not sure how my father treats you," Gill continued, "but as long as you live here, you're expected to make income for this town. We're suffering enough as it is, and having you here only adds to our problems. I'd expect at least 10,000Gs worth of income by the end of the Spring season, understand?"

"10,000?" I asked in disbelief. "I'm hardly making 300Gs a day. I'm also expected to pay for the crap shack I'm living in right now, and you think I'm going to make _that _much money in one season?"

Gil raised an eyebrow. "You obviously didn't read the fine print on the contract before you moved here, did you? You think being a rancher is all fun and games? I'm not sure what reasons you had for moving here, but you better think of a damn good reason why we should allow you to stay. Your pitiful diploma won't mean a thing if it can't rejuvenate this town."

He then turned his attention towards Kathy. "Sorry for that, Kathy. Accept my deepest apologies. It's good seeing you, again."

As Gill left to go inside the bar, I felt the anger rise within me. Never, in all my life, had someone come off so blunt and so rude. I felt my fists clench with anger, my blood boiling.

"Who the _hell _does that kid think he is?!" I shouted.

"Calm down, Danny," Kathy said. "Gill maybe a little rude, but he's trying to do what's best for this town."

"_A little rude_? Did you see the way he was talking to me?!"

"He can be like that to many people, but don't dwell on his words."

She then grabbed my left hand, squeezing it tightly. I felt myself instantly calm down.

"Just work hard and everything will be okay. And if you had a long, hard day, you know you're always welcome to our bar."

She gave me a wink, and I returned a smile, staring into her deep, green eyes. "Thank you, Kathy."

"Anytime." She then let go of my hand, trying to hide her blush. "Well, I gotta head back to work. See you inside?"

"I'll be there," I said to her. And then, she left, leaving me and Finn alone.

"Did you see that D-bag?" I asked Finn.

"Who? The mayor's son?"

"Who else did you think I was talking about? Something about Hamilton and his family just seems to make my blood boil. I hate him, Finn. I believe I hate him more than I hate you."

"Maybe it's just a misunderstanding."

"Well, whatever the reason, I'm going to ignore the mayor and Gill as much as I can. One more word out of that kid, and I swear, I'm going to do what I should've done to that guy dating Rachael."

"Who's Rachael?" Finn asked. I remembered that he didn't know about my past.

"Just a girl. No one special." I lied to myself.

As far as I was concerned, she was a very important person to me, a close friend. I had turned her away, as well as everyone else I loved. I started to feel guilty, angry, and ashamed. I decided to take a walk around Harmonica town to cool my mind. The entire time I walked, I was silent, keeping my hands in my pockets and looking at the many buildings in town. Finn kept trying to talk to me the entire time I walked, but I ignored him. I then made my way to the light house down at the beach, past the fishing parlor. I stared out into the ocean, my thoughts flooded with memories of home.

"Finn," I finally spoke up, "why was I chosen again?"

"Huh?" Finn questioned.

"Of all the people that live on this earth, of all the more successful, more powerful, wealthier people, those who are smarter and braver than I, why was I chosen? What does the Goddess see in me that I can't see? What's so special about me?"

"Well, she did tell you that you are special in a way no other human is. If she chose you, then she had a good reason, and she knows you won't fail. Don't lost faith in yourself, Danny."

"I guess," I muttered.

Finn then snapped at me. "Oh, are you really going to be upset just because the mayor's son said one little word to you?"

"Finn, that's not-."

"You think that because you don't find yourself being worthy or anything makes you seem useless? And you're really going to dwell on that guy and what he said?! You said I'm annoying, but look at you; you're a big, fat complainer who doesn't believe in himself! I may not know why you moved here in the first place, but the Goddess is counting on you to save this land, which is your new home, as well, and you're just gonna mope?!"

Finn's words made me snap. I pulled out the yellow shard from my pocket, and threw it at Finn, but missed him.

"_Shut up!" _I yelled. "_Just shut up! I'm sick of meeting everyone's damn expectations! Am I nothing more than a slave to the world?!_"

I glared at Finn, breathing heavily in anger. He had a horrified expression, and we continued to stare at each other for a moment, before I lowered my head, gritting my teeth in frustration. But he was telling the truth; I was nothing but a complainer and a failure.

"Sorry, Finn," I whispered. "I didn't mean to lash out at you."

I looked up and saw Finn with a sadden expression. He was unusually quiet, no longer having his annoying personality. I sighed heavily and walked past him, looking for the shard I threw away. I followed it a couple of meters along the beach when I found it lying in the sand near a strange, white stone.

"What the?" I became curious, and upon inspecting the stone, it seemed to glow brightly under the moonlight. It had a familiar crescent shape on it. I then took out the tablet, looking at the same crescent shape and reading the text again.

"_Find where the moon touches the stone earth near the basin of the King's throne, the soft melodies of the fields, and cool ocean that stretches from the lands._"

"Cool ocean that stretches from the lands?" I looked up at the lighthouse that was on the strip of land stretching out to the ocean. I then looked up at the night sky and saw the moon. I smiled widely. "Why did I not see it before?"

I called out to Finn. "Finn! Finn, come here!"

"What?" he asked as he flew towards me.

"Finn, I think we found our first moonlight stone!"

* * *

_Feedbacks and constructive criticism is always welcome. Thank you for reading. Until next time, take care._


	10. Riddles in a Book

_What's going on, audience? Today, I've brought you chapter 10 of my story. I'm aware that updates have been rather slow, but please bear with me. If you've kept up with this story thus far, then I thank you for your time. Just a short recap:_

_-Danny has found and rung the Red Bell, and is currently trying to restore the Yellow Bell by using the moonlight._

_-To do that, he has broken off a shard of the bell, and is searching for the three Moonlight stones that will absorb the moonlight._

_Interactions with other characters will be coming soon, but Danny has a lot of work ahead of him before things start stirring. Be warned, this is an extremely boring chapter, but nevertheless, I hope you enjoy it. Oh, and copyrights stuff, I don't own it, etc. _

* * *

**10.**

"Finn, I think we found our first moonlight stone!"

"Wha-?"

Finn flew beside me, eagerly looking at the white stone that glowed brightly. It seemed as if it was absorbing the moonlight. I figured why it was so obvious that they would call it the moonlight stones. I observed the rusty yellow shard, holding it high in the air.

"So, what do I do?" I asked. "Collin said to just place it on the stone, right?"

"Yes," Finn replied. "The shard should absorb the moonlight, restoring a little bit of its power. Quickly! Do it now!"

"Alright, then." I placed the shard on top of the stone. All in one moment, the tiny shard appeared to lose its rusty yellow color and shine brightly as if it was refined and renewed. It amazed me to see such a small object display such a magnificent display. If I had known sooner that magic existed, I would not have been so awestruck at such a tiny bell shard and a glimmer of light emitting from a rock. The light then started fading, until the shard resumed its rusty yellow color, though the white stone continued to glow under the moonlight. I picked up the shard and examined it.

"Looks like nothing's changed," I muttered.

"It's only one stone," Finn said. "There are still two more to be found, and then we still have to place it back on the bell."

"I just hope we can find the rest of them," I said as I read the tablet again. "The cool ocean that stretches from the lands, huh? Wonder where the King's basin and the soft melodies of fields are?"

I put the tablet and the shard back into my rug sack. I then turned to Finn.

"Look, Finn," I said, scratching the back of my head while avoid facing him. "I, uh… sorry about before."

Finn looked at me skeptically. "For what?"

"For yelling at you. I didn't mean it. I'm not the kind of guy to just lash out in anger at anyone, even if it's someone I hate. I'm no good at apologies, either. I just hope you can forgive me."

"You are quite unpredictable," Finn said, crossing his arms. "But then again, humans have a hard time controlling their emotions. That's what makes them so unique from sprites, goddesses, and wizards. I don't hold anything against you, Danny. I forgive you."

We gave each other a sincere look, the kind of look that two people give when they trust each other. We didn't say anything, but we both knew we didn't need to.

* * *

"Hey, Danny!" I heard Calvin's voice calling from the lighthouse. He and Owen spotted me and made their way towards me.

"Yo, why are you here on the beach by yourself?" Owen asked.

"Oh, I'm just trying to sober up," I said.

"You've barely had anything to drink," Calvin said, raising an eyebrow.

"Kathy told us what happened with you and the mayor's son," Owen said. "Don't take it so personally. He's a nice guy once you get to know him."

"Yeah, I suppose," I agreed. "I just get too worked up when it comes to people like that."

"Just promise you won't start trouble with him, though," Calvin said.

I laughed a bit. "Don't sweat it, guys. I'll hold my tongue."

"Well, it's getting pretty late," Owen said. "Gramps is still waiting for me, and we got a long walk to get back."

"I'll be staying at the Ocarina inn for the time being," Calvin said. "I think I'll be taking my time studying these parts of the land."

"And I'll be going back, as well," I said. "Besides, I still got an angry calf back at the farm to deal with."

As I talked with Calvin and Owen, I was afraid they would see the glowing white rock behind me. As I turned around, however, the moonlight stone was no longer glowing like it did before, and appeared only as a plain, old rock. _What the heck…_

I thanked Calvin for treating us before we all went our separate ways. I made sure to collect a few berries and mushrooms I had found along the way back home. It wasn't long until I arrived back at the JimmyJean ranch and found Betty sleeping in front of the barn door. I made a note to myself from now on to close up Betty first before nightfall, otherwise she would get more angry than she already was. After having Finn wake her up, and she obliged to him, having her chase me yet again as I ran for my life, I finally locked her up in her pen. I made sure to ship the items I needed, including the ores I had found during mining. Sleep was the only thing I could think of as I got ready for bed. The weariness and fatigue was finally starting to settle in.

"So, where do I sleep?" Finn asked.

"Take the couch," I muttered in a sleepy tone as I crawled into bed.

"But I already said there's no couch!" Finn yelled. "No fair!"

I didn't care to listen to Finn's rant. I felt my body aching in pain, like I was hit by a semi truck. I blacked out the instant my body hit the bed.

* * *

I felt my body stiff like a board by the time I woke up. Pain was throbbing in my head. My legs and arms felt like they were strapped down and tied. My shoulders felt like they were hard pressed into concrete cement. It made my morning even worse to hear Finn ranting yet again.

"Rise and shine! Get up!"

"Finn, cut it out," I muttered, pulling the blanket over my head.

"Wake up, Danny!" Finn shouted. "It's 6:10! We have work to do!"

I sighed heavily. "Surely, the Goddess will understand that I can't do her work if I'm this sore. Few more minutes…"

"Wake up!" Finn then started pulling at my blankets. "You can't stop now! Quit being so lazy, and get up!"

I groaned in frustration as the sprite kept pulling at me, until I could no longer put up with it. I lashed out at Finn, trying to grab him. I missed, however, and fell out of bed, hitting my head on the floor.

"That's what you get!" Finn pointed.

I made a promise that this fairy would pay one way or another. I lay on the ground for a few more moments before finally getting up, using the bathroom, and getting ready for the day. It would have helped if I had my coffee, but I was too broke to afford anything at the moment. I had become a coffee addict, and I needed it soon, otherwise I would break down. It took me an hour to do my morning chores of cleaning the house and watering the plants, under much strain and soreness, before confronting Betty yet again.

"Here goes nothing," I said to myself as I stood in front of the barn door.

I quickly opened it, and not to my surprise, Betty stood ready in front of the door and sent me flying across the yard and into my garden plot.

"How long are you going to keep doing this to me?!" I shouted to her as I stood up, making sure I didn't break any bones. The calf gave a snort before she went off the graze in the nearby meadow.

"She seems rather moody," Finn said.

"Isn't she always?" I commented.

"More than usual, though. She's only agitated because she's not used to a new home yet. And the fact you've left her outside two nights in a row now is making her a little resenting towards you."

"Only a little?" I asked skeptically.

"Well, okay, _a lot._ I think you should take care of her better."

"But how? I let her outside every day, right? I feed her the fodder she's supposed to eat. Does she really demand _that _much attention?"

"You have to remember that she's only a calf, a baby cow," Finn argued. "What if you had a child of your own? Would you just let him or her just roam around aimlessly without the care of a parent?"

"She's a baby cow," I pointed. "I'm a human. How can I be a parent to an animal?"

Finn sighed heavily, rubbing his temples. "That's not the point, Danny. By the Goddess, you are so small minded and stupid!"

"Says the tiny sprite who has no idea how to save a dying land, and is unreliable," I said, folding my arms.

"_Says the stubborn idiot who is lazy all the time!"_

"_Says the clumsy banana pixie who is complaining all the time!"_

"_Says the-!"_

I didn't let Finn speak another word, as I snatched him in my black baseball cap and smothered him. I always enjoyed abusing the small fairy, hearing his muffled cries. Unfortunately for me, a loud, unreliable living fairy is better than a quiet, unreliable dead one, so I eventually let him go.

"So, what would I need to do?" I asked Finn after we had settled our argument.

"Well, you can try talking to her," Finn said.

"I don't think that would work too well," I said with an unsure face. "Besides, will she even understand a word I say?"

"I told you before; you'd be surprised at just how smart animals are."

"Alright…" I knew the plan would be a failure from the start. I approached the calf slowly, keeping my distance. I started out with a simple 'hello', but she was unresponsive. I continued to coax the calf as I moved closer to her. I should have known better, however; Finn had pressured me to reach out and pet her, only to have her chase me through the meadow and send me flying into the hot spring. Then again, I did need the bath.

"A simple chat and it ends up like it did the day before," I muttered as I dried myself off.

"These things take time," Finn said. "You can't expect people to become friends instantly."

As much as I wanted to believe Finn's words, something in me made me believe Betty would never understand. "Yes, but in Betty's case, I am her sworn enemy."

Finn then suggested that I brush her everyday with a cow brush. Of course, only the Horn Ranch sold those kind of accessories, and it cost 1600G, an amount of which I did not have. I did remember Cain advising me to brush her, as well, so I made note to save money so I could buy it. Of course, the only way I could make money until my crops yielded, and what little crops I had, was to collect wild items; the mushrooms, the berries, and the shells at the nearby river. Suddenly, I had remembered the fishing rod that the man, Toby, gave to me on the first day, so I decided set out to try my luck at fishing, both for food to eat, and for money. I dug up a few worms for bait with my gardening hoe near my plot before setting out.

* * *

Finn was against me fishing and suggested I continue my search, but I had convinced him that there was no point in finding the moonstones until after sunset. I found it funny that ever since I moved here, I hadn't actually had time to handle my farming business other than attending to Betty and watering the seeds everyday. It made things even more difficult in that the preppy mayor's son, Gill, was expecting a large sum of money, which I knew I couldn't earn. There was also no way that I could pay 5000g for living in such a rundown house and a rundown farm, which would also cost a fortune to repair and upgrade. _Perhaps Gill maybe right, after all, _I had thought, _I had only decided to become a rancher because I thought it was all fun and games. Things had turned out to be quite differently._

I shook the thought out of my head as I set up my spot for fishing. I had arrived at the pond that stood close to the base of the mountain that lead to the Garmon Mines, not too far from my own home, and fished off the nearby dock.

"This gonna take forever!" Finn started complaining a few minutes after I had casted my line.

"No one told you to come with me," I said. "You're more than welcome to take care of Betty at the farm."

I continued to sit there, focusing on my fishing line, hoping to get at least something. I had gone fishing a few times in my life, so it was something I was familiar with. I was usually fishing for the fun of it, however; I never thought that I would be fishing for a more financial and survival reason. An hour had passed, and there was still no bite. Several times, I had to reel my line back in and cast it out again, but nothing seemed to be working. Soon enough, however, my patience finally paid off, and I felt a small tug on my line.

"Oh, I finally got something!" I shouted.

But it was not what I was expecting. After reeling in my catch, I had a small fish no bigger than Finn himself hanging on the end of my line.

Finn started laughing hysterically. "That's a pond smelt! They're so common you don't even have to try to catch them! But it took you such a long time, and you got so excited!"

I cursed to myself as I continued to stare at the tiny silver fish in disgust. I didn't even know if it was worth keeping. Regardless, I set the fish aside onto a flat rock, set another worm on the hook, and recast the line. After yet another long hour of patiently waiting, disgusted by my luck, I had caught yet another smelt. Finn's reaction was just the same as before, and it really started to tick me off. I repeated the same process; hook another worm, recast, wait patiently. Another hour passed, and another smelt had been caught. I started swearing and slamming nearby stones and sticks.

"How can my luck be this bad?!" I screamed.

Finn seemed wise enough not to make another smart comment after seeing me going ape crazy. I calmed myself down for a few moments before I took a look at my catch.

"Three tiny smelts in three hours," I said to myself, shaking my head. "Not exactly the best catch in the world. Still, at least I caught something."

I had the thought that I wouldn't catch anything on my first day, but three tiny fish was better than no fish. Figuring they wouldn't be worth more than 5G, I decided to just cook them later. I had brought with me from my old home some matches just incase, but I never thought that they would be my only source of cooking fire. Nevertheless, it was what I had to work with. On the contrary, I was never a big fan of eating fish. I had packed all my things and made my way back towards the ranch, looking at my three catches in disgust.

"You don't seem to be enjoying your luck," Finn commented.

I rolled my eyes at him. "You're very observant! It's just, I don't really like eating fish."

Finn chuckled, covering his mouth. "You've got no choice, it seems. Why didn't you pack your own food before moving here?"

"Well, I didn't think food would be _this_ big of an issue. Plus, I can't really afford to buy anything other than a cheap drink at the Brass Bar."

All of a sudden, my stomach started grumbling. Finn looked at me in amusement. "Well, you can't be picky when you're hungry. Besides, fish isn't that bad."

After reaching my ranch, I cleaned the three smelts inside my house before starting a small fire outside, digging up a small fire pit, adding some tinder that involved numerous twigs and dry leaves, and cooking the three fish. The entire process took two hours to complete before my fish were finally ready to eat. As I expected, they did not taste so good. It was warm, yes, but the meat felt dry, chewy, scaly, bony, and overall disgusting.

"Enjoying your first meal of the day?" Finn asked. He had a smug look on his face.

"Can it, Finn," I muttered. "What's it to you, anyways? It's not like _you_ can eat food or anything."

"Yes, we can. We just don't need to eat, because our bodies don't thrive on food, not that we enjoy sweet and tasty things once in a while."

"Well, you're more than welcome to eat my feces, and then you can tell me just how sweet and tasty it is."

Insulting Finn seemed to make the taste of the warm, rubbery fish meat a little more bearable. I had finished eating all three grilled smelt, as hunger forced me to, and downed nearly three bottles of water to get the taste out of my mouth.

"Don't think fishing is going to get me any money," I said after recollecting myself. "Let alone, get me good food."

I wasn't as productive as I thought I would be. Feeding Betty and watering the seeds was all I could do on my farm for now, and it took far more effort than needed to get the fish. There was also the fact my house also needed major repairing. The front door made a loud squeaky noise every time I opened it, not to mention the hinges were rusted and loose. The window sills were dirty and needed to be replaced, the tiles on the roof were misaligned, the chimney needed to be dusted and the house needed a new paint job.

_The house needs a new _everything._, _I thought as I inspected my house. I never thought it would be this bad. I had moved here to Castanet, thinking that I was well prepared, but the fact was, I was on the border of being homeless. With a beat up house that practically had no electricity, no means of food, and barely any money, I knew I wouldn't stand a chance at being a farmer, let alone living on my own. I knew I had to adapt, and soon, otherwise, I _would _be homeless.

* * *

"Seems you better work hard, now," Finn said after I had settled down. "The way things are, you're going to have a lot of trouble."

"Gee, thanks for pointing out the obvious," I muttered.

"We can worry about it later, though," Finn continued. "Let's try to find the remaining stones."

"How?" I asked. "This tablet doesn't really give out any specific detail of where to search next. Besides, why do these sorts of things always have to be written in riddles?"

Finn sighed, shaking his head. "And you always say I'm complaining. Maybe someone in town might be able to help us."

"I thought we weren't supposed to mention about the Harvest Goddess," I said. "Otherwise, she will… you know?"

"_Yes, _I know!" Finn exclaimed. "But we're not talking about the Goddess; we're only talking about the stones and the tablet. It's not particularly relevant."

"I see," I said. "Then who can help us?"

"We can try speaking to Hamilton."

I made a disgusted face. "Why the mayor?"

"He is the only human to have all the historical sources of this land. He might have something that can decipher the next clues on the tablet."

I was very reluctant to visit that stupid mayor again. But as much as I didn't want to go, I had no choice. Finn was right in that Hamilton was the only one who kept the records of Castanet, so he was bound to have something that would help us.

I headed out to Harmonica town, noting again that I would need faster transportation. When I arrived to the Town Hall, I was surprised that no one was inside.

"It can't be closed," Finn said. "It's only mid-afternoon."

"Where do you suppose Hamilton is?" I asked.

Finn suggested we search Hamilton's house, which wasn't too far from the Town Hall.

"Hello?" I called when I arrived at his house, knocking on the front door.

"He has to be home," Finn said. "His son should be with him, too, right?"

"I hope so," I said. I tried knocking again, but there was no answer.

Putting all my mannerism aside, and against Finn's pleads, I opened the door and walked right in. I arrived in the empty kitchen first.

"Hello?" I called out, making my way into the next room.

"Hello?" I kept calling, but still no answer. "Hamilton?"

I was kind of hoping I wouldn't meet him and I would be able to go back to my own business, but also wasn't expecting to meet Hamilton the way I did. I heard muffled cries coming from the living room.

"Hello? Hello, Danny, is that you? Can someone help?"

Finn and I looked around, following the voice until we found a pair of stubby legs hanging out of the chimney.

"M-mayor?" I called out.

"Oh, Danny," I heard him say. "I'm so glad you're here! I seem to have gotten myself stuck. Could you please lend me a hand?"

I just simply stared at the mayor as he struggled to get out.

"Aren't you going to help him?!" Finn shouted at me.

I laughed a little. "No, I think I'm going to watch for a while."

"_Danny_!"

"Oh, all right."

I grabbed the end of Hamilton's left leg and started pulling. Finn help, but his effort didn't really do much. After a small struggle, I was able to pull the mayor out from the chimney. I couldn't help but laugh when I was his rosy face covered in black ash.

"Oh, thank you so much, Danny!" Hamilton cried. "I was afraid I would be stuck in there forever!"

"What were you thinking sticking your head in there?" I asked him.

"I was trying to give the chimney a good cleaning, but I didn't think my large body would get me stuck in there. I need to lose a few pounds."

I folded my arms and gave him a skeptical look. _A few is an understatement, _I thought to myself.

"Anyways, thank you, Danny," Hamilton said as he brushed the ash off his face. "I was actually hoping to see you again, because I wanted to give you something."

This made me rather curious. I raised a brow at him. "Really?"

"Yes! Hold on for one sec." Hamilton ran into another room before shortly returning with a book in his hand.

"This book contains various myths and legends around Castanet. I feel like it's something you should have, since you are new here."

I shook my head, holding my hands in refusal. "Thanks, mayor, but I don't think-."

I then felt Finn slap the back of my head. For one so small, he actually had considerable strength, enough to make me yell 'Ow!'.

"Something wrong?" Hamilton asked.

"Uh," I stammered as I rubbed the pain, "no, I think a bug bit me. Anyways, I'd love to have the book."

"Then it's all yours," Hamilton said, handing it to me.

After a brief conversation with the mayor, I left his house and made my way back home, reading the book.

* * *

"Why would I need this book?" I asked Finn.

"Dummy! It may contain something about the moonstones or the bells!" Finn shouted.

"How would you know?"

"The Goddess has been a big myth around these parts for many years, Danny. The bells are sure to be mentioned in there, too!"

I didn't believe Finn as I continued to skim through the endless pages, looking at all the pictures and reading the titles.

"I still don't see anything," I said as I flipped through the pages. "One page talks about some legendary king fish. Another talks about a 'Kappa', whatever the heck that is. This one mentions something about rainbow islands. Still nothing about the Goddess-."

I then stopped in the middle of my sentence when I came upon that page that read " The Moonlight Stones."

"No way," I muttered.

Finn flicked his tongue at me. "See? What did I tell you? They are in there!"

I read the page, trying to find clues that reveal stone's location.

"The King's Basin?" I read aloud. "The book says it's at the foot of the mountain, in the Garmon Mines. And apparently, the melodies of the field are described to be flat lands next to the woods of a witch. I'm guessing that's the Flute Fields. I can't believe how easy this is, Finn! Wonder why they would call it the King's Basin, though? Do you know, Finn?"

I noticed, however, that Finn became strangely quiet. He had an uncomfortable look on his face, something that I hadn't seen coming from such an enthusiastic, if annoying, fairy.

"What's wrong?" I asked him.

"Oh, nothing!" Finn said, resuming his normal persona.

I looked at him skeptically, but shrugged it off.

"So, the Flute Fields and the Garmon Mines. I hope finding the rest of the bells will be this easy."

* * *

_So why is Finn strangely upset at the mention of the 'King's Basin'? I guess the only way to find out is to stay tuned. Anyways, wherever you are, I hope you all had a joyous Christmas holiday and Happy New Years to all you! Until next time, take care!_


End file.
